MANILA – Malacañang assured the public that
President Rodrigo Duterte “always” prioritizes Filipino workers over Chinese.
This after a recent survey showed that majority of Filipinos are worried over
the increasing number of Chinese nationals working in the country.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the country has strict
immigration and labor policies in place for foreign workers while adding that
the Chinese have “seamlessly assimilated in the Filipino way of life for
centuries.”
“The Filipino people are assured that this administration is strict in
enforcing the law, especially those pertaining to our immigration and labor
policies,” Panelo said in a statement.
“The President, as always, will prioritize the interests of the Filipino people
and our local labor force,” he added.
The Social Weather Stations survey showed that 70 percent of adult Filipinos
are worried about the rising number of foreign Chinese workers in the country.
Of the said figure, 31 percent are “worried a great deal” while 39 percent are
“somewhat worried.”
Panelo, however, said that the outcome of the latest SWS survey is no longer
surprising given that questioning was done with the assumption that “there
exists a cause of worry.”
The SWS survey result came out just days after President Duterte warned
offshore gaming operators, which mostly employ Chinese nationals, to settle
their dues with the Philippine government./PN