Why allow too many foreign workers here?

While every day, more than five thousand Filipinos are leaving our country to work abroad, precisely because there are no jobs available in the domestic labor market, why does the DOLE keeps on approving alien employment permits to Koreans, Japanese, Americans, Europeans, and even Africans and Chinese ? The DOLE publishes almost daily both notices of foreigners applying for permits to work here. This is a gross violation of the law, and is almost tantamount to economic sabotage. It gives priority to aliens when our local talents can very well do these jobs.

Under the Labor Code, these aliens can only be permitted to work here, instead of our own nationals, only after a determination of the non-availability of a Filipino, or a person in the Philippines, who is competent, able and willing at the time of application, to perform the service for which the alien is desired. In other words, the DOLE's discretion is subject to the conditions set forth by the Labor Code, that there is no qualified Filipino who is willing to do the job, and he is available to do it. The DOLE regional director must exercise his discretion within the limits so prescribed by law.

More than ten years ago, a company with a big plant in Mactan, on behalf of the Alaska Basketball Team, applied for a permit to bring in Tim Cone to the Philippines to serve as a basketball coach. The regional director granted the permit, even knowing full well that there are thousands of Filipino coaches who can do the job, and even do it better. Further, the association of Filipino coaches filed their formal opposition. Accordingly, former Secretary Ruben Torres, a staunch nationalist reversed the director's decision and cancelled the permit. That company went to the Supreme Court on certiorari.

The Supreme Court agreed with Secretary Torres, holding that a foreigner should not be allowed to get a job that a Filipino is entitled to. Under our Constitution, there is an explicit provision granting our own citizens a preference, without any condition whatsoever. Of course, we adopt international law as part of the law of the land, and that we have signed conventions and treaties, especially the ASEAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION. But our Labor Code still prevails, that, as long as there is a qualified Filipino, no alien employment permit should be granted. We should uphold the preference for our own people.

In one Supreme Court decision, involving an international school, then Justice Leo Quisumbing opined that Filipinos, while being discriminated against in other countries, should not be subjected to the same discrimination right here in our own homeland. I thus call upon the DOLE regional directors all over the country, in all seventeen administrative regions, to exercise utmost diligence in making sure that only in very exceptional cases should such alien permits be granted. I used to sit in the Board of PEZA and I know that there are many qualified aliens. But for every qualified foreigner, there are thousands of more competent Filipinos.

With all due respect, any deviation from this principle enunciated in the Constitution and the Labor Code, will constitute grave abuse of discretion. I call upon all Filipinos to defend their rights and insist that the government uphold it. They are entitled nothing less, as a matter of fundamental right.