Opposition Sen. Francis “Kiko” N. Pangilinan urged the Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) Wednesday to prioritize the hiring of local workers over foreign workers to help address the joblessness caused by pandemic lockdowns in the country.
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
At the Senate public hearing of its P667.32-billion budget, the DPWH admitted that in some government projects, Chinese workers account for 30 to 45 percent of the workforce.
The DPWH committed to address the issue of foreign workers in Philippine infrastructure projects given that many Filipinos are out of work.
Pangilinan also urged the use of local products in government infrastructure projects to help provide jobs and revive the manufacturing sector badly hit by the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic.
“We’re in the middle of the pandemic. Adult unemployment rates (per Social Weather Station) are in the mid to high 30s. According to a recent SWS survey, ang ating (our) unemployment rate in September was 39.5 percent, comprising 23.7 million Filipinos,” he said.
Addressing DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar, Pangilinan said big-ticket infrastructure projects included in the 2021 budget must produce significant and needed jobs for Filipinos.
On projects funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA), Pangilinan said the DPWH must ensure that Filipino workers are given preferential treatment over foreign manpower amid the reported influx of Chinese workers in critical infrastructure projects, particularly the Kaliwa Dam and railway projects.
“Given the (high level of) unemployment rate we are facing due to COVID, is the employment of foreign workers a condition for the approval of these ODAs?” Pangilinan asked Villar.
Villar clarified that employment of foreign workers is not a condition for the approval of the ODAs, but sometimes, foreign workers are hired but only for specialized functions.
Pangilinan encouraged Villar to give preference to local raw materials or materials with high local content in government flagship projects to help local manufacturers rebound from the effects of the pandemic.