As if reading out from a playbook, Palace officials rushed to “clarify”an earlier pronouncement of President Duterte, this time on the matter of illegal Chinese workers who have swarmed the country. But there was a clarification to the clarification, such that the message remains confounding—and hardly reassuring to Filipinos.
Between 2015 and 2018 the Department of Labor and Employment issued 169,893 alien working permits, of which 85,496 were given to Chinese workers, online news organization Rappler reported. AEPs are valid for three years. The Bureau of Immigration meanwhile said that out of the 72,010 valid Special Working Permits it had issued, 64,087 were given to Chinese workers.
Other estimates say the numbers are much, much higher.
The matter has become polarizing given the high unemployment among Filipinos, China’s continued incursions into Philippine territory, and the President's preferential treatment of all issues Chinese.
On Saturday, Mr Duterte said he was inclined to tolerate the presence of the Chinese workers because doing otherwise might put the jobs of Filipinos working in China at risk.
In characteristic speech Mr. Duterte said: “Iyong mga Chinese dito, hayaan mo’ yan na dito magtrabaho. Hayaan mo. Bakit? (The Chinese, let them work here. Let them be. Why?) We have 300,000 Filipinos in China.
“Kaya hindi ako maka—sabihin, o umalis kayo dito, deport ka doon. Eh kung bigla paalisin ’yun doon 300,000 of them (That’s why I can’t say just leave, or have them deported. What if they send all 300,000 Filipinos away)?”
On Monday, however, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the government will apply immigration laws “with full force” against the Chinese workers. “We wish to clarify that the President's policy on Chinese workers who are illegally staying in the country remains the same, which is the enforcement of immigration laws against violators.”
Chinese citizens in blatant violation of our immigration laws “will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law,” he added.
But Panelo shifted gears almost in the next breath, saying that the President simply spoke the way he did because the plight of Filipino workers remains foremost on the President’s mind. So while the government will enforce immigration laws, it cannot afford to act “recklessly” on perceived violations of Chinese citizens, Panelo said.
We wonder how one can act recklessly when one is simply enforcing the law.
The Palace operates on the premise that the circumstances surrounding the employment of Chinese in the Philippines and of Filipinos in China are the same—a grievous mistake.
Our OFWs landed their jobs through legitimate means, processing documents and passing through government agencies that validated their employment status. Alas, one cannot say the same for the Chinese workers arriving in droves and threatening to seize opportunities for Filipinos so in need of jobs.
That alone renders the “tit-for-tat” theory preposterous.
Did Mr. Duterte, as he often does, slip up and betray his true loyalties during that weekend speech?Or was he, as the Palace often claims, misunderstood? Whatever the case, Filipinos need to hear a calculated (not spur of the moment), firm (not inconsistent), and rational (not driven by misplaced fears) position.
Our dealings with China will always be a sensitive topic, and only clear signals from our leaders will put an end to speculation about whose interests they truly serve.