The Philippine government should “professionally” deal with the plight of illegal Chinese workers in the Philippines, an official said Monday night.
Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jinhua said China had a “persistent policy” not to encourage and allow Chinese nationals to work in a foreign country illegally.
“If they are working illegally here, it’s up to you to deal with the issue in accordance with your laws. But as we’re dealing with the foreign nationals illegally working in China, we also follow our laws and procedures,” Zhao told reporters.
“But in the meantime, we would also call on the law enforcement agencies here to deal with this issue professionally. You have to take into consideration the humanitarian needs of those Chinese nationals as we are doing exactly when it comes to the Filipinos working illegally in China.”
Zhao made his statement even as Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Tuesday welcomed his statement that the Chinese workers in the Philippines would comply with Philippine laws.
Drilon issued the statement after Zhao paid a courtesy call on Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo in Malacañang.
Zhao said China and the Philippines were handling the problem of illegal workers in their respective countries in accordance with their laws.
“There’s a problem of Chinese working illegally here. But also, there are Filipinos working illegally in China,” Zhao said.
“So we are handling this in accordance with our respective laws and regulations. We are handling it professionally in the spirit of our friendship and cooperation.”
Zhao also said China would not opt for a “tit for tat” approach once the country decided to deport the illegal Chinese workers.
“That’s not really the diplomatic way to do it or to describe it. I don’t want to put this issue in such a way that we’re doing tit for tat,” Zhao said.
Meanwhile, in a statement after their 50-minute meeting, Panelo said Zhao made an assurance that the Chinese government does not approve of the illegal entry or employment of its citizens here.
“He [also] expressed concern on the possible exploitation of Chinese citizens in illegal gambling operations in the country and called for cooperation in strictly monitoring the situation,” Panelo said.
Malacañang has previously said the Philippine government will “definitely” deport Chinese workers who are illegally working here, but that due process will be applied efore any deportation proceedings.
Panelo also said the government would be cautious but would strictly apply all pertinent laws against illegals.
In January this year, former President Benigno Aquino III claimed that Chinese nationals were taking the jobs meant for Filipinos.
Vice President Leni Robredo also said the Duterte administration was giving “special treatment” to the Chinese nationals in the country.
In November 2018, Duterte warned the Philippine government to “exercise caution” if officials would push for the possible deportation of illegal Chinese workers here, noting that the Filipinos working illegally in China might suffer the same fate.
