Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 16) — President Rodrigo Duterte is letting the Bureau of Immigration (BI) keep its power to issue special work permits (SWP), which has been blamed by some lawmakers for the influx of illegal foreign workers in the country.
“The intricacies brought about by the influx of foreign workers and immigrants in the country require collaborative efforts of the (national government agencies) to regulate alien employment,” Duterte said in vetoing a special provision in the 2019 budget.
“Thus, it is but imperative that the regulation should be a shared responsibility of the BI and the DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment,)” he added.
The Senate introduced the special provision in the spending bill which sought to require the BI to coordinate first with the DOLE before issuing SWP. The DOLE will also vet foreign workers under the provision.
Senate Labor Committee Chair Joel Villanueva said he is disappointed with the veto.
“The lack of monitoring and the irresponsible issuance of work permits the past months by the Bureau only indicates incompetence and worse, corruption,” Villanueva said in a statement.
He said Senate inquiries into the influx illegal foreign workers into the country showed that the BI issued expedited work permits through under-the-table deals.
An SWP allows foreigners to work in the country for three to six months and is issued by the BI. An Alien Employment Permit (AEP), on the other hand, is issued by the DOLE and allows foreigners to work in the country from one to three years.
Requirements for an SWP are less stringent than what is needed for an AEP. For one, there is no need for foreign workers to have their application published to get an SWP, but this is needed to obtain an AEP. SWPs can also be issued in just three days and for a cheaper fee.
DOLE previously told CNN Philippines that it is already reviewing its guidelines on the issuance of AEPs and is coming up with new guidelines with the BI on the issuance of SWPs.
The DOLE has reported an upward trend in Chinese workers in the Philippines, issuing a total of 51,000 AEPs to Chinese nationals from 2015 to 2017.
The BI also recorded a spike in Chinese arrivals in 2017 and 2018. Of the 393 arrested by the BI, 304 of them were Chinese nationals who were overstaying or working without permits.
