By Leslie Ann Aquino
More than 400 new labor inspectors were deployed by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to inspect establishments employing foreign nationals and verify the legitimacy of their employment.
The DOLE building (Manila Bulletin file photo)
According to the Labor Department, 135 of the Labor and Employment Officers (LEOs) were dispatched in the National Capital Region, 12 in the Cordillera Administrative Region, nine in the Ilocos region, 42 in the Cagayan Valley region, 37 in the Central Luzon region, 34 in CALABARZON, 12 in MIMAROPA, and 12 in the Bicol region.
Eleven LEOs will also conduct an inspection in Western Visayas, 23 in Central Visayas, and 12 in Eastern Visayas.
In Mindanao, 12 labor inspectors were given authority to conduct verification inspection in the Zamboanga Peninsula region, 20 in the Northern Mindanao region, 12 in Davao region, 11 in SOCCSKSARGEN, and 10 in Caraga.
The LEOs were joined by one regular labor inspector who serves as team leader to supervise the conduct of verification inspection.
In Administrative Order No. 472, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III directed the regional directors to authorize the verification or inspection of identified establishments and workplaces.
"During the inspection, the inspectors will ascertain the legitimacy of the company as shown by the business permit and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration; and verify the roster of local employees and the foreign national/s actually working at the time of inspection," said DOLE in a statement.
The inspectors, the Labor Department said, will also check the list of Alien Employment Permit applicants, if there are any, and the company representative should certify that they are indeed hiring the foreign nationals.
The labor inspectors will then submit a report to the DOLE regional director one day after the conduct of verification inspection.
The LEOs will conduct the verification inspection until the second week of December this year.