MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Friday called on the government to explain why it is considering bringing in foreigners for its flagship projects amid the COVID-19 crisis.
"When [the news] first came out, the people's reaction was that they would lose out on jobs. So I think the government has to explain to people why we're allowing foreign workers to come in, because right now so many [Filipinos] are out of work," Robredo told CNN Philippines in a mix of English and Filipino.
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The government in March suspended the visa-free privileges of foreigners in an effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected over 33,000 people in the Philippines.
Currently, only accredited foreign government and international organization officials and their dependents; and foreign spouses and children of Filipino nationals are exempted from the restriction.
However, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday said the government will look into proposals to allow foreigners working on state flagship projects to come to the country.
"So many of our country men have been retrenched, are out of work, and are looking for work. When they hear that foreigners will be hired, of course they will question why they are not being prioritized," Robredo said in Filipino.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that an additional five million Filipinos were left jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic and government-initiated lockdowns in April.
In absolute terms, movement restrictions threw 7.3 million Filipinos out of their workplace during the survey period, up from 2.3 million a year ago, PSA data showed.
A survey released by the Social Weather Station on Tuesday found that a record-high 43% of Filipinos expect their lives will worsen in the next 12 months.
Robredo on Friday asked: "Kung ang trabahong gagawin, kaya naman ng Pilipino, bakit hindi nalang ibigay sa Pilipino?" (If a Filipino can do the job, why not give it to a Filipino?)