Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 29) – The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO) has awarded scholarships to 70 Filipino students this year.
The Filipino scholars will be pursuing higher education in electronics, artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, while some will study Mandarin.
“The Philippines is one of our priority countries and you have made the right choice in pursuing higher education in Taiwan,” TECO Representative Wallace Chow said.
One of this year’s scholars, data scientist Zachary Bisenio, will be pursuing a master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology.
“Taiwan is leading in the semiconductor industry and also in terms of Science and Technology products so the learning environment is very conducive for data scientists like us,” Bisenio told CNN Philippines.
Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Chairman Silvestre Bello III said there are many opportunities for Filipinos in Taiwan.
But the challenge is how to encourage these scholars to come back to the Philippines after pursuing their studies, he added.
“With the attractiveness ng benefits doon, karamihan sa grumaduate doon they get employed doon. Like for example yung 122, only 2 came home,” Bello said in an interview.
[Translation: With the attractive benefits in Taiwan, most of those who graduate get employed there. For example, out of the 122 Filipino students who studied there, only two came back home]
Bello: Taiwan eyes to hire 28K foreign workers
Bello also said Taiwan aims to hire 28,000 foreign workers this year.
“600 factory workers, 14,000 caregivers, 8,000 agricultural workers. They prefer the Philippines when it comes to factory workers,” Bello said.
The MECO chief has yet to release details on these job vacancies.
Bello is pushing for more economic partnerships with Taipei. He said he will be meeting with Finance Secretary Ben Diokno and lawmakers to discuss a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will ease the tax burden for Taiwanese businessmen interested in the Philippines.
“All the Asian countries have an MOU with Taiwan na wala silang double taxation, ‘yun ang pinaka-discouragement ng Taiwanese na pumunta sa atin,” he said.
[Translation: All Asian countries have an MOU with Taiwan that prevents double taxation, which discourages business owners in Taiwan to go to the Philippines]
