RP, South Korea to sign legal assistance pact

The Philippines and Korea will sign a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) during the three-day visit of President Arroyo in Seoul next month, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

Under the MLAT, both countries will provide each other with assistance on criminal matters, particularly the exchange of information and investigation of nationals of both countries.

Diplomatic sources said the President will also meet with a group of representatives from the South Korean National Assembly to push for the passage of the bill that will grant work permits to more than 15,000 undocumented foreign workers, including some 30,000 Filipino workers.

The undocumented foreign workers were supposed to be deported last December but the South Korean government extended amnesty until August, the time expected for the bill to be passed by the National Assembly.

Owners of small and medium businesses in South Korea opposed the deportation of the workers fearing a labor shortage already being experienced in the country.

Once the bill is passed into law, undocumented foreign workers will receive the same salary and benefits being received by local workers.

But if the National Assembly fails to pass the bill by August, the South Korean government will consider revising its immigration laws to allow foreigners to gain employment as manual laborers. Seoul will also directly control the issuance of permits and the distribution and management of migrant workers.

Domestic employers will be allowed to hire foreigners under the work permit system if they can prove they were unable to find domestic workers. Foreign laborers are to be allowed to stay in the country for up to three years under the labor law and will be afforded the same labor terms as domestic workers.

The President’s state visit to Seoul is slated on June 2 to 4. Mrs. Arroyo will proceed to Tokyo, Japan immediately after to speak in the Nikkei Conference on the Future of Asia, which will also be attended by Malaysian Prime Minister-on-leave Mahathir Mohamad and Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. – Pia Lee-Brago