Stricter regulations eyed for Chinese illegals

MANILA, Philippines — The government is taking stringent measures to regulate the entry of illegal Chinese workers in the country, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said yesterday.

Guevarra said an inter-agency agreement would be signed today to address the growing number of foreign workers, particularly in Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGO).

He said among the possible actions to be taken under the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) is the summary deportation of foreign workers without work permits.

“Appropriate sanctions, including deportation, will be imposed on foreign workers who violate the provisions of the JMC, including non-registration for tax purposes,” Guevarra said.

“Foreign workers employed in POGOs, particularly Chinese, will be covered by the JMC,” he added.

The JMC will be signed by the Department of Justice and Bureau of Immigration (BI) with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Professional Regulation Commission, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.

The agencies took such action amid the reported influx of illegal Chinese workers in the country.

Guevarra explained that the enforcement of the JMC could be an alternative to a proposal in the Senate to remove from the BI the authority to issue special work permits (SWPs) to foreigners.

While Guevarra admitted that there are loopholes in the implementation of the law covering foreign workers, he said this could be plugged through closer coordination among concerned government agencies such as the BI and DOLE.

He said there is no need for legislative action to address the problem on illegal foreign workers in the country, as suggested by Sen. Joel Villanueva during the hearing of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development last week.

“This issue can be addressed without amending the law. It’s not a question of which agency should be solely responsible for the issuance of SWPs. The issue is how to tighten up the rules on SWPs. The BI and DOLE only need to work together on this,” the justice secretary explained. 

Guevarra cited for instance the lack of effective mechanism to monitor the status of foreign workers in the country.

“The problem really is how to monitor the movement of foreign workers after the expiration of their SWPs issued by the BI or the long-term alien employment permit (AEPs) issued by the DOLE. That requires a lot of intelligence resources so we can control the number from their entry here,” he said.

An SWP allows foreigners to work in the country for three months. It can be extended for another three months. For periods longer than six months and for highly technical, specialized, supervisory and managerial jobs that cannot be filled by Filipinos, foreigners are given AEPs by DOLE.

Guevarra also defended the BI, saying the agency is doing its mandate to run after illegal foreign workers. He cited the arrests of illegal and undocumented foreign workers by the bureau.

Income tax from POGOs

The government can collect more than P10 billion in taxes monthly from POGOs as the number of Chinese in such firms appears to be understated, senators said yesterday.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said based on consultations with industry insiders, the number of Chinese workers in POGOs is around 500,000, not 130,000 as officials of the Department of Finance (DOF) claim.

“The BI says there are about 150,000 Chinese workers here, but based on the number of licenses issued by Pagcor, I think the figure is closer to 500,000,” Gatchalian said, referring to the permits given by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. for POGOs to operate.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III estimated that at least P2 billion in withheld income taxes may be collected monthly from POGOs.

Gatchalian said most of the Chinese come in as tourists but actually enter the country for employment in POGOs.

He said Pagcor must coordinate with the BI whenever it issues licenses.

He said the DOF and Pagcor must find ways to tax winnings from the online games that POGOs operate.

Gatchalian also called for the creation of a task force composed of the DOF, Pagcor, BI and the Bureau of Internal Revenue to determine the actual number of POGO workers in the country. – With Paolo Romero