JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said the government is targeting the deportation of illegal Chinese workers in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) industry by the end of the month or the first week of October.
Remulla made the remarks after his meeting with Zhou Zhiyong, Chargé D’affaires Ad Interim from the Chinese Embassy in Manila, where the POGO issue was discussed.
“Hopefully, by the end of this month or first week of October, we can start with the deportation. And there will be more than 300 of them,” Remulla said.
He said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is already coordinating with the Chinese Embassy on the procedure and timeline of the deportation.
The Chinese delegation did not grant an interview with the media and left the DOJ immediately after the meeting.
On Wednesday, Remulla said an initial batch of 280 illegal Chinese POGO workers are ready to be summarily deported.
Earlier, DOJ spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano said around 40,000 Chinese nationals may be staying in the country illegally, working in a POGO that is no longer licensed to operate.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III has urged the Bureau of Immigration to immediately deport the more than 40,000 allegedly overstaying POGO workers.
Pimentel also said the BI should run after overstaying POGO workers amid reports that a number of them were involved in the recent kidnappings and disappearances of Chinese nationals.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, however, said he believed the number of undocumented or overstaying Chinese nationals in the country could go as high as 100,000, citing discrepancies in the records of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) and the BI.
While waiting for the deportation to start, Remulla said the DOJ will follow protocols such as the conduct of RT-PCR tests for those who will be deported as required by Chinese airlines and two local airlines.
He said they are also validating information on the whereabouts of other POGO workers.
“It’s a step-by-step process. It cannot happen overnight. We have to validate information, we have to ask them to validate it themselves and if they said it is valid information, then we agree on the time and manner of deportation,” Remulla explained.
Meanwhile, the DOJ chief said the National Bureau of Investigation has already formed teams to go after the illegal POGO workers.
Last July, Remulla ordered the NBI to stop POGO operations after receiving reports of “hulidaps” or arrest and extortion operations of the NBI.
HUMANE TREATMENT
The Nagkaisa Labor Coalition (NAGKAISA) yesterday called on the government to provide humane treatment to foreign workers, particularly those from the POGO industry.
In a statement, NAGKAISA chairman Sonny Matula said there is a need for foreign workers to be treated fairly as many of them are merely victims of human trafficking.
“To us, in the labor movement, the most important aspect of that protection, aside from due process, is by not criminalizing the victims (because) in many cases, migrant workers end up victims to onerous labor contracts, if not outright trafficking by criminal organizations,” said Matula.
“The government must act as a good Samaritan, who helps and rescues distressed workers found in our territory and provide them opportunity to recover, rather than thrash them in our detention centers while summary proceedings for deportation are on-going,” he added.
The labor leader said such acts are imperative considering that the Philippines is also a labor exporting country, with millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) deployed abroad.
“As a sending country of migrant workers that demands fair and equal treatment of our OFWs from their host states, the Philippines is required to apply the same principle with respect to the rights of migrant workers of other nationals received into the country,” stressed Matula.
In addition, he pointed how the Philippines is a signatory and has ratified the Migration for Employment Convention (ILC 49) in 2009.
“The Philippines has the obligation to extend, not only non-discriminatory policies, but most importantly, immediate protection and support for workers of other nationals,” said Matula.
NAGKAISA also urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to help in the issue of foreign workers being subjected to deportation.
“We urge concerned agencies to formulate a coherent policy on this issue, and to involve labor organizations and migrant groups in that policymaking process,” said Matula. — With Gerard Naval
