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With unemployment rising, lawmakers in the minority group have expressed concern over the growing number of Chinese workers in the country.
However, the state gaming regulatory authority has eased public fears about Chinese workers far outstripping Filipinos in the so-called "Pogo" sector (Filipino online gambling operators), claiming that the Chinese represent only a quarter of the people employed here.
At a press conference, minority leader Danilo E. Suarez of Quezon said the relevant government agencies should closely monitor foreigners entering the Philippines as tourists and then convert their status by applying for a foreign work permit (AEP).
The AEP issued by the Ministry of Labor and Employment allows foreigners to work in the country for more than three months.
The PEAs are distributed to professionals and managers working in the entertainment, online games and construction sectors.
Estimates for foreign workers in the country, cited in a previous Senate hearing, had reached 400,000. At a hearing before a Senate committee of workers earlier this week, however, learned that the Immigration Bureau granted more work permits (with their so-called special work permits or SWPs) than the PEA.
"Whether through legal or illegal means, the growing number of Chinese nationals working in the Philippines puts our own nationals in a perilous position in terms of seeking a lucrative job," said Suarez.
Citing a survey, Suarez said the Filipino unemployment rate had risen to 22 percent or 9.8 million individuals in the third quarter of the year.
This is almost 3 points higher than the 19.7% recorded in June, an increase of more than one million Filipinos unemployed.
He cited data from the Ministry of Labor and Employment according to which nearly 50% of PEAs issued to foreign nationals between 2015 and 2017 have been to Chinese nationals.
He added that "our labor legislation allows the employment of foreign workers only after determination of the non-availability of a Filipino national who is otherwise competent, capable and willing at the time from the request to provide the services for which the foreigner is desired ".
Immigration Bureau data showed that out of the 393 foreign nationals arrested for exceeding the validity period of their visas or lacking a work permit, 42 were Chinese.
"These Chinese nationals work in online games, while some are engaged in construction work. Statistics from the Immigration Bureau also show that the number of Chinese nationals entering the country since 2015 has tended to increase, reaching more than one million in 2017, "he added.
Pagcor: Do not panic
In the meantime, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) pointed out that Filipino workers are not at a disadvantage in the online gaming sector.
Andrea D. Domingo, president of Pagcor, said that only 25% of employees in the online gambling sector were foreigners, the others being Filipinos, which ensured that foreign nationals did not take jobs that could have been illegal. To be for Filipinos.
Jobs attributed to Chinese nationalities are those that require linguistic expertise, said Domingo, adding that although some Filipinos speak Mandarin, Cantonese or Hokkien, their diction and accent differ from those of mainland Chinese.
"You have to know the nuance of the language and the culture is also a factor, especially when you give the good news and the bad news, so it's a different type of expertise," Domingo told a forum Kapihan held in Manila on Wednesday.
If Filipinos can only meet the requirements and qualifications required for this job, online gaming operators would undoubtedly prefer to hire local talent to save on labor costs, Domingo said.
"It's cheaper to hire locally because they will not have to worry about accommodation and food. Now, because they are all foreigners, the operators must provide everything and they must pay a higher salary because it is in foreign currency, "she added.
The Pogos are Pagcor licensed entities offering online gambling via the internet exclusively to registered foreign players, excluding Filipinos from here and elsewhere.
In August, incoming arrivals were reported to have increased by 9.74%, reaching 4.31 million euros between January and July 2018.
Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) show that much of the incoming tourist traffic from China has increased by 40%, to reach 764,094 arrivals from January to July 2018. China is now the second largest source of tourists for the Philippines.
In March of this year, Pagcor said that Pogos' revenue should reach 6 billion pesos after the establishment of a third party audit system to monitor the operations of the 53 Pogos, which will enable Pagcor to track the income generated by the Pogos in real time.
Last year, Pogo's revenues reached 3.9 billion pesos and Pagcor plans to double them this year.
The licensing fee for each Pogo operator is $ 200,000, while the application and processing fee is $ 15,000. In addition to the fees, Pagcor requires operators to deposit a fund of $ 250,000 in case they can not pay the winning bets.
settlement
In the meantime, the House of Representatives approved in third and final reading Bill 8368, which strengthens the regulation of the employment of foreign nationals in the country.
To implement the employment regulation, the bill seeks to amend Articles 40, 41 and 42 of Title II, Book 1 of Presidential Decree 442, as amended, known as the "Philippine Labor Code". .
The bill seeks to adopt the labor market as a basis for determining the non-availability of a Filipino national who is qualified and willing to perform services for which the foreign national is hired.
The bill stipulates that foreign nationals who have issued work permits must transfer their skills and technology to Philippine duplicates within a prescribed period.
In addition, the bill increases fines and penalties for offenses committed by foreign nationals and their employers to deter transgressions.
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