Chinese robbing Filipinos of jobs

MALOU GUANZON APALISOK

The Senate Committee on Labor opened its inquiry yesterday into the influx of illegal Chinese nationals working in the country and “shamelessly robbing Filipinos of jobs,” in the words of Senator Joel Villanueva, head of the Senate panel.

The probe was prompted by a raid conducted Thursday last week by the National Capital Region Police Office on an online gambling den operating in Pasig City. The raid on Finasia Tech, Inc. located along Dona Julia Vargas in Barangay Ugong, Pasig City was a result of complaints aired by residents disturbed by the presence of Chinese nationals in the area.

The police arrested 87 Chinese nationals (60 of them holding tourist visas) and 16 Filipinos. The raid also yielded computers, laptops, smartphones, iPads, tablets, cameras and other gaming paraphernalia. The 93 persons arrested are now detained in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City. They are facing charges of violation of RA 10175 otherwise known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

Sen. Joel Villanueva’s tact in hitting hard against Chinese nationals working illegally in the country is through an amendment of existing labor laws. He wants an expressed provision that would compel businesses operating in the Philippines to employ 80% Filipino workers and allow only for 20% foreign workers.

Owing to my deadline, I wasn’t able to monitor the entire hearing of the Senate but I think Sen. Villanueva’s endorsement of an amendment to the labor laws as a strategy to thwart Chinese nationals from stealing local jobs is insufficient because on closer scrutiny, the root of the problem is the proliferation of online gaming and the expansion of integrated hotels and casinos in Manila.

In September this year, Senator Franklin Drilon of the minority bloc called the attention of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III to look into the increasing number of Chinese nationals working in the country and whether they are holders of valid Alien Employment Permits (AEP).

According to the news website Rappler, an AEP is a document issued by the DOLE-Bureau of Local Employment authorizing foreigners to work in the Philippines. The permit is valid for one year or co-terminus with the duration of the employment but shall not exceed five years. The AEP is issued only if the skill required for the job is not available locally.

Secretary Bello was quick to respond that to date the agency has issued 40,000 AEPs with 25,000 or more than half issued to Chinese nationals. At that, Sen. Drilon told him that the numbers are rather low because industry sources are saying some 400,000 Chinese nationals have arrived in Metro Manila and majority have found work in hotel casinos and online gaming parlors that have proliferated in the business districts around Metro Manila.

For Sen. Drilon, the situation is bizarre since the Philippines is known as a top business process outsourcing BPO provider in the world.

I wasn’t able to monitor the entirety of the hearing yesterday and I’m wondering if Senator Villanueva invited Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo to get updates about PAGCOR’s issuances of permits to online gambling operators.

In November this year, Rappler reported that PAGCOR authorized some 57 offshore online gambling operations referred to as POGOs (Philippine Online Gambling Operations).

Chairman Domingo should be able to name the POGOs and if their set up is compliant with Philippine laws because she has gotten tough on illegal online gambling. PAGCOR’s crackdown on illegal POGOs from June to August this year resulted in the arrest of some 170 illegal offshore operators. The drive was headlined by PAGCOR in collaboration with the National Bureau of Investigation, PNP and the Bureau of Immigration.

These agencies should be summoned to shed light on the arrival of Chinese nationals illegally working in the gambling industry, a sector considered as a scourge of society.