Malacañang appealed to lawmakers to provide “leeway” for Chinese workers employed in ongoing infrastructure projects. This statement was made after a senator called out the government on prioritizing foreign workers as Filipinos lose jobs in the construction industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department of Public Works and Highways said in a recent Senate hearing that the Chinese comprise 45 percent of the workforce in the Binondo Bridge project and 30 percent in the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge.
As a general rule, foreigners should be hired “only when there’s not enough Filipinos able and have the capacity to perform the work,” said Roque.
He said he would discuss the issue with the DPWH and the labor department “to see if we can insist that more Filipinos should be hired.
It was Sen. Francis Pangilinan who called the authorities and public’s attention on possibly renegotiating these contracts so that the projects could employ more jobless Filipinos or repatriated migrant workers.
“Baka naman kaya natin iyon, baka kinakailangan lang ng kaunting re-training ng ating mga kababayan para magkaroon ng ganung klaseng mga skills. Eh sa atin dapat unahin,” Pangilinan said.
“In the end it is our call. We can disapprove… Ang final approval is with the government, our government. And therefore, dapat wag tayong basta-basta na lang nagpapadikta (we should not let ourselves be dictated upon),” he added.
