A lawmaker has called for a congressional inquiry into the illegal entry of foreign workers to the country that has caused the displacement of Filipino workers in various fields.
Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza (Partylist, TUCP), author of House Resolution 874, also urged the House Committee on Labor and Employment to review the labor and immigration laws to protect the interest of the Filipino workers and their families.
Mendoza cited reports that some 3,000 Chinese nationals were employed by a multinational company to work in the construction sites in Bataan and Batangas without the required government working permits.
"The incident shows the weakness of the government in the strict enforcement of labor and immigration laws," Mendoza said.
Mendoza said under the Omnibus Guidelines for the Issuance of Employment Permits of the Department of Labor (DOLE), a foreign national who is seeking a job in the country must apply for an Alien Employment Permit.
Mendoza said foreign workers will only be allowed to work in the country if there is no Filipino national who is competent, able and willing to do the job for which the services of the applicant is desired.
Mendoza said the entry of foreign workers to the country has serious adverse implications not only in the construction, fishing and other industries but also in the overall unemployment and underemployment situation in the country.
Citing a report from the Social Weather Station (SWS), Mendoza said the unemployment rate is 27.5 percent or about 12.1 million unemployed Filipinos covering the period September to December 2013.
"The employment generation over the past two years has fallen short of the official goal of adding one million new jobs a year in order to absorb new entrants into the labor force," Mendoza said.
Mendoza said the government should create decent employment opportunities for the people and level the playing field for the Filipino job seekers here and abroad.
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