Press Release
June 4, 2019

Influx of Illegal Foreign Workers: A New Threat to Philippine Sovereignty
A Privilege Speech by Senator Joel Villanueva

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

Mr. President, distinguished colleagues:

I rise today on a matter of personal and collective privilege, particularly on the issue regarding the influx of illegal foreign workers into the Philippines. For the past months, our country's newsfeed has been flooded with reports on the influx of foreign workers in the country, their illegal activities, their arrests, among others.

Last week, blogger James Deakin posted an incident shared to him by a netizen of a Chinese who went inside another condominium unit without any clothes on, claiming to have allegedly mistaken the condominium as that of his girlfriend. Also, last week, four Chinese nationals were arrested with Php124 Million worth of shabu in Pangasinan.

Noong lumindol noong April 22, naging viral sa social media ang post na ito "Grabe lumindol lang pagka evacuate sa amin nasa china na ako?!!!" Napansin po kasi nung nag-post ng video na si "Charmoine Pua" na halos lahat ng empleyadong naglalabasan sa isang building malapit sa MOA, halos lahat sila Chinese.

Thus, I stand before this august assembly today, not in any means to persuade, but rather to put forward in every possible way, my sincere convictions on the issues pertaining to the influx of illegal foreign workers.

As a Senate, we have never been lax or amiss in defending the rights of our people to liberty, and to self-determination in the pursuit of decent livelihood and living. As a Senate, we heed the call to enact policies that afford Filipino laborers with an opportunity to realize their full potential through employment and meaningful work, whether at home or abroad. Our efforts are relentless. We passed the bill to end ENDO after 21 years. We passed the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Law to guarantee safer workspaces for our Filipino workers after 15 years. We have just gone through the scrutiny of "social dumping" involving Pinoy truck drivers in Padborg, Denmark, as well as the most pressing concerns of our kababayans working abroad in Kuwait, Malaysia and other countries.

And we, Mr. President and distinguished colleagues, within legal bounds and the dictates of our Constitution, will never falter in defending the rights of the Filipino people. Kaya andito po tayo ngayon, at ilalahad po natin ang sitwasyon ng ating bansa patungkol sa pagdagsa ng illegal foreign workers.

Noong November 24, 2016 pa lamang po, na-alarma na tayo sa narinig nating balita na may 1,240 na Chinese nationals ang inaresto sa Clark. Marami po sa mga naaresto ay walang kaukulang dokumento. Sa atin pong pagdinig sa Committee on Labor, natuklasan po natin na ang Next Games Outsourcing Inc., isang CEZA accredited service provider ng kanilang offshore licensee na Nano Web, ay nagbibigay ng trabaho sa 1,546 foreign workers at 11 lamang po sa mga Pilipinong manggagawa. Marami rin sa kanila ang walang kaukulang alien employment permit.

Nakakalungkot na parang hindi natuto ang mga ahensya ng gobyerno na nakilahok sa ating pagdinig noon na ayusin ang sistema ng pagbabantay sa mga illegal foreign workers. Makalipas ang hearing, marami pa rin po tayong mga narinig na mga balita tungkol sa illegal foreign workers. Ilan lamang sa halimbawa nito:

Noong May 22, 2017 - sampung (10) illegal foreign nationals ang inaresto sa quarrying sa Zambales.

May 2, 2018 - inaresto ang Chinese Chef na si Wang Yongbin dahil sa pambubugbog sa waitress na si Rutchel Taer dahil lang sa pagtikim nito ng chicharon na pangsangkap sana. Galos at pasa po sa likod at braso ang tinamo ni Rutchel matapos siyang suntukin, itumba sa sahig at paulit-ulit na tapakan sa likod.

September 6, 2018 - tatlumpo't apat (34) na Chinese ang inaresto sa isang online gambling operation sa Pasay.

November 22, 2018 - siyamnapo't tatlong (93) illegal Chinese workers ang inaresto sa isang online gaming operation sa Pasig.

November 23, 2018 - apat (4) na Chinese nationals ang naiulat na pumatay at chumap-chop sa isang babaeng Chinese na si Wang Yalei sa loob ng kanyang Condominium unit sa Bel-Air Makati dahil lang sa selos.

February 9, 2019 - tatlumpong (30) Chinese nationals ang natagpuang ilegal na nagtatrabaho bilang cook, hairstylist, at vendor sa Solemare Parksuites at Aseana Power Station sa Parañaque.

February 11, 2019 - inaresto ang Chinese na si Zhang Jiale dahil sa pambabato ng taho sa isang unipormadong pulis na naka-istasyon sa MRT.

February 19, 2019 - inaresto ng Bureau of Immigration ang 276 foreigners matapos ang raid na ginawa sa isang technology company sa kahabaan ng Ayala Avenue sa Makati. Ang mga naarestong foreign workers ay walang mga kaukulang work permits.

Iilan lamang po ito sa mga kasong napag-alaman natin sa Committee on Labor na sangkot ang mga dayuhang lumalabag sa ating batas. Nakipag-ugnayan din tayo sa National Bureau of Investigation.

According to the NBI, 95% of the arrests they made of foreign nationals in 2017 to 2018 are Chinese nationals, primarily for illegal online gambling.

Kamakailan lang doon po sa atin sa Marilao, Bulacan, walong (8) Chinese ang naaresto dahil puwersahan umanong pinagtatrabaho ang 87 na Pinoy sa pagawaan ng mga pekeng sigarilyo.

Sa mismong bayan ng Marilao, Bulacan na nilakaran ng ating mga bayaning nagtanggol sa ating kalayaan, ikinulong at hindi pinahihintulutang lumabas ang ating mga kababayan mula sa marumi, delikado at masikip na pabrika ng sigarilyo at pilit umanong pinagtatrabaho nang mahabang oras. Mr. President, illegal po ang pabrikang ito.

Sa huling dalawang hearing ng Committee on Labor ukol sa isyung ito noong November 26, 2018 at February 21, 2019, napag-alaman po natin ang mga ito:

FIRST, both the Bureau of Immigration and DOLE issue work permits that allow foreign nationals to work in the country.

Isipin n'yo po: may dalawang ahensya ng gobyerno na hiwalay na nag-proproseso ng work permits para sa mga dayuhan.

Based on data provided to us during the hearing, for the period of 2015-2018, DOLE issued 169,893 Alien Employment Permits or AEPs or an average of 42,000 AEPs per year.

The Bureau of Immigration, for its part, issued a whopping 185,099 special work permits from January to November 2018 alone!

With the number of SWPs issued by the BI, we would expect that it has a clear system to determine whether an applicant for SWP is allowed to work in the Philippines, consistent with the criteria laid down in Article 40 of the Labor Code, which provides that there should be no other Filipino able, and willing to do the tasks for which the foreigner is being hired. Unfortunately, Mr. President, when we asked BI of this process, we were met with silence and bewildered faces.

In fact, the BI admitted that some of the SWPs it issued refers to jobs that Filipinos are competent, able, and more than willing to take, such as call center representatives, electrical technicians, tour guides, machine operators, and construction workers.

These occupations are in fact identified as "in-demand" in our domestic labor market according to DOLE's JobsFit 2022 Labor Market Information Report.

Parang sirang plaka na nga po tayo. Hirap na hirap po tayong ipagtanggol ang ating mga kababayang nagbabanat ng buto sa ibang bansa samantalang ipinamimigay naman natin sa mga dayuhan ang mga trabaho dito sa atin.

In addition, we believe that one of the reasons for the huge spike in the number of SWPs issued to foreign nationals is due to the corrupt practices that are prevalent in the BI.

Una: alam po nating lahat na huli sa akto sina former BI Deputy Commissioners Al Argosino at Michael Robles, na kasalukuyang nakadetain at hinaharap ang kaso ng plunder sa Sandiganbayan. Sa ating Komite sila unang humarap, at nagmistula pang mga bida sa paghuli sa mga illegal foreign workers sa Clark noong November 24, 2016. 'Yun pala, hawak hawak na nila ang tumataginting na Php 50 million mula sa isang Wally Sombero para pakawalan ang ilan sa mga Chinese nationals na nahuli sa joint operations sa Clark.

Pangalawa: Pati na rin sa satellite office ng ahensya, talamak rin ang korapsyon. Ang opisina po natin dito sa Senado mismo ang nakahuli sa mga lantarang paglabag sa batas ng mga tao sa BI satellite office sa SM Aura. Nang tumawag tayo doon, ang sabi sa atin ay pumunta lang tayo doon, at ma-pro-process ang SWP sa loob ng isang linggo. Pero pag nagbayad ng karagdagang limang libo (P5,000), kaya na daw ma-issue ang SWP sa loob ng isang araw. Ito nga lang po ang catch: wala pong resibo ang P5,000 na babayaran! Kanino napunta ang nakolektang pera na iyon?

BI Commissioner Morente himself confirmed this incident. As a consequence, he has relieved all the stationed personnel in this office, including the security guard.

We commend Commissioner Morente for acting swiftly and decisively upon receipt of our report on the corrupt practices in the field office of the BI. Nonetheless, these incidents are a clear manifestation that the BI's usurpation of power to issue work permits breeds opportunities for corruption. Mr. President, abuse of power begets abuse of power!

Bukod pa rito, mapapakamot po kayo ng ulo kapag narinig ninyo ito, Mr. President: alam niyo po bang iyong mga holders ng SWPs are merely staying in the Philippines on the basis of a tourist visa?

In fact, iyon pong mga na-apprehend na mga foreign construction workers sa Eastfield Building Project site sa Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard dito sa Pasay City, tourist visa lang po ang hawak ng mga iyon at ang iba ay wala pang maipakitang passport o kahit anong documentation man lang.

Ayon po sa datos na binigay ng Bureau of Immigration, marami sa mga nabigyan ng SWP ay galing China. In fact, from 2013 to 2018, BI issued 233,364 SWPs to Chinese nationals.

BI data also shows that there was a 2,262% increase in SWPs issued to Chinese nationals from 2017 to 2018 alone.

Gaano karami po ang mga turista mula China ang dumating sa Pilipinas? Data from DFA will show that our Philippine Embassy in China issued 1,656,630 tourist visas and only 18 pre-employment visas to Chinese nationals in 2018.

Ipinagmamalaki po natin ang all-time record high na 7.1 milyong turista nitong 2018 kahit pa nagsara ang Boracay sa loob ng anim na buwan . Ang problema, karamihan sa mga ilegal na dayuhang manggagawa sa mga online gaming industry ay pumupunta dito sa Pilipinas bilang turista. Ilan nga ba sa kanila ang tunay na turista, at ilan ang kunwari'y turista, pero magtratrabaho pala dito?

Mr. President, we maintain that the BI does not have the authority to issue any form of work permit. The authority to issue work permits rests with the DOLE because it is the only agency that has the capacity to vet whether or not a particular job can be offered to a foreigner.

According to the BI, it is authorized under Section 42(a)(33) of Commonwealth Act No. 613 or the Immigration Act of the Philippines, to issue work permit. However, if we read this provision carefully, it merely authorizes the BI to collect fees, and not to issue work permits, especially to a foreigner who is merely holding a tourist visa. This view is shared by no less than our Minority Leader, Senator Drilon, who is also a former Justice Secretary.

Ito po ang rason kaya ninais nating maisabatas ang isang special provision sa 2019 Budget na nagsasaad na hindi na pupuwedeng mag-issue ng work permit ang Bureau of Immigration. Sa kasamaang palad, Mr. President, na-veto po ang ating proposed amendment.

Still, this representation stands firm. We maintain our continuing opposition to the issuance of any work permit by BI.

SECOND, it appears that majority of the foreigners working illegally in the country are Chinese nationals, most of whom are in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGO Industry.

Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Morente himself confirmed that around 90% of those who were issued SWPs works in the POGO industry and are mostly, Chinese nationals. On the other hand, PAGCOR, which regulates the legal gambling industry in the Philippines, cannot even provide any data on the number of foreign workers in the POGO industry since they only give licenses and franchises to these POGO operators but do not regulate POGO employees.

PAGCOR even admitted that it does not require employees of online gambling entities to obtain a Gaming Employment License (GELs), which it requires of other establishments that PAGCOR-licensed entities.

Nakakapagtaka na sa napakahabang panahon, bangka ng sugal sa bansa ang PAGCOR pero nang pumasok ang POGO, na-pogo na rin ang pagiging regulator nito! Sa Tagalog, "pogo" means "pigil", "putol", o "kalbo". Parang ganun na rin po ang nangyari sa PAGCOR, na-pogo!

THIRD, the POGOs are largely unregulated, to the detriment of the country, particularly the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Ayon sa PAGCOR, may 58 POGOs, 205 POGO service providers at may isang accredited BPO service provider ang nabigyan ng mga lisensya.

But does PAGCOR really perform its duty to regulate gambling in the country? Nagpunta po tayo sa isang building sa Makati, and we found that 22 out of the 38 companies listed in the building's directory are either offshore gaming operators or offshore gaming providers. Isang building pa lang po ito sa Makati!

Kung pupunta tayo sa mga kapitbahay nating mga buildings dito sa Pasay, panigurado, marami pa tayong makikitang kumpanya na may kinalaman sa online gambling.

Secretary of Finance Carlos Dominguez III even estimated that the country is losing over Php3 billion pesos a month in unpaid taxes from foreign POGO workers because of the failure of their companies to withhold the proper taxes, while the BIR also announced that it expects to collect Php4.4 Billion from these POGOs.

Maliban dito, hindi lahat ng PAGCOR-licensed companies ay nakarehistro sa BIR. Based on BIR data, they are only aware of 54 PAGCOR-licensed POGOs. Of this number, 39 ang hindi nakarehistro sa BIR, at hindi nagbabayad ng karampatang buwis.

Mr. President, we believe that it is the constitutional mandate of the State to protect and uphold employment opportunities for Filipinos.

Article 12, Section 12 of the 1987 Constitution should remain sacrosanct. It should be the guiding policy for the State in protecting Filipino jobs, AND I QUOTE: "The State shall promote the preferential use of Filipino labor, domestic materials and locally produced goods, and adopt measures that help make them competitive." CLOSE QUOTE

Mr. President, we do not oppose the inflow of foreign investments and the potential influx of the necessary foreign personnel required to undertake the execution of certain projects, businesses, or industries. However, we maintain that this inflow should never be at the expense of opportunities for Filipino employment.

Hindi po mauubusan ng mga Pilipino na kayang gumawa ng mga trabahong ipinamimigay lang ngayon sa mga ilegal na dayuhang manggagawa. Hindi ko po matatanggap na hindi natin kayang magbigay ng pagsasanay sa ating mga kababayan, lalo na kung language proficiency lang, at lalo pa't napalawak pa natin ang mga programa at maging ang pondo para sa mga training programs ng TESDA.

Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, I enjoin this august body to work together in introducing reforms to ensure that Filipinos are not robbed of the jobs that rightfully belong to them.

Let us work together in the next Congress to ensure that only when there are no Filipinos who are capable, able and willing do we issue a work permit to a foreigner.

Let us also work together to ensure that there is a system of technology transfer to ensure that foreigners who are admitted to work in the Philippines transfer their know-how to Filipinos.

We must also revisit the charter of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation to compel it to strengthen its regulations pertaining to the entry of foreign workers in the gambling industry.

Finally, we must strengthen the mandate of local governments in regulating businesses that are located in their territories, especially those run by foreigners who operate without permits to prevent abuse. Nakita po na natin ito sa Boracay. Last May 22, the Office of Malay Mayor Abram Sualog shut down ten Chinese and Korean-owned businesses that were operating without permits.

Mr. President, we must be vigilant. If we don't, we will be allowing these foreign nationals to rob us of badly needed job opportunities. By allowing foreigners to illegally work in our barbershops, construction sites, restaurants, and call centers, ano na po ang nangyari sa ating bayan?

Will we not challenge the irregularities that take place in the course of our agencies "legalizing" these foreign workers, despite the clear provisions of Article 12, Section 12 of the Constitution, and the Filipino First policy?

Mr. President, distinguished colleagues:

The unemployment and underemployment problems in the Philippines are not yet resolved. The exodus of OFWs has not yet been mitigated. Kaya hindi po tayo magpapalupig. Hindi po natin isusuko ang oportunidad at trabaho ng mga Pilipino, at patuloy po nating titindigan ang isyung ito.

Maraming salamat po at Pagpalain ng Diyos ang ating bayan. ______________________________________________

1 https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/05/25/4-chinese-nationals-arrested-p124-m-shabu-seized-in-pangasinan/

2 Based on a submission by NBI Director Atty. Dante Gieran to the Committee dated January 21, 2019.

3 TSN, February 21, 2019 p. 49.

4 https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/24/19/philippines-records-all-time-high-71m-tourist-arrivals-in-2018

5 https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1123083/bir-to-pogo-firms-pay-p4-4-b-unpaid-taxes-of-chinese-workers

6 https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/national/chinese-korean-businesses-in-boracay-ordered-closed/ar-AABKh4T?li=AAb280R&%25252525252525253Bocid=spartandhp

 

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