DOJ: Government studying re-entry of foreign workers but OFWs are priority
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice is studying the re-entry of foreign nationals to work on flagship projects in the country, but Secretary Menardo Guevarra stressed that returning migrant workers will be prioritized in these projects.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Monday that the government is studying allowing foreigners working in state flagship projects to come to the country after an embassy made a request.
“We are studying these matters very carefully,” Guevarra told reporters in a text message.
He explained that an official from the Department of Public Works and Highways raised this matter to the Inter-Agency Task Force, where Guevarra is a part of.
“It came across to me as an expression of the need for these foreign consultants and other technical workers due to their expertise,” he added.
The DOJ chief however stressed that returning Overseas Filipino Workers will take priority. “We have to deal with the repatriation of thousands of OFWs and we do not want them to be crowded out by foreign nationals who will likewise have to be tested and quarantine upon arrival,” Guevarra added.
President Rodrigo Duterte, in his 13th report to the Congress, said that the government is expecting the number of returning migrant workers to reach 100,000.
If the foreign nationals involved in the flagship project comprise a “manageable number,” the task force may allow them to re-enter, Guevarra added.
“Note that many of them are already here; it’s only those who were abroad and caught by the lockdown who wish to re-enter the country,” he also said.
Guevarra further explained that the government is also studying a request from a foreign embassy to allow the entry of its citizens with permanent or long-term visas issued by the Bureau of Immigration.
This also involves holders of retirees and commercial visas, including foreign nationals who may have business in the Philippines.
The IATF referred this matter to a technical working group, he said.
The technical working group is also looking into allowing foreign technical workers to resume work on flagship projects.
“The IATF may decide on the matter next week,” Guevarra also said.
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