There are Filipino illegal workers in China, too, Duterte says
(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, Nov. 27, urged a careful approach to the issue of Chinese illegal workers in the country.
Speaking to reporters in Bohol, Duterte noted that while the illegal workers should be deported, there were also “so many thousands of Filipinos working there or went inside China as tourists and working there.”
He noted that the same was true in Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea.
“If you think that you are at a loss, at the disadvantage because there are so many Chinese nationals who are working here, remember that we have seen equal amount of (Filipinos) who are there working in China…But wala naman silang idineport (deport),” Duterte said.
“So maybe you can just tell them to go home,” he added, noting that “if you start to get rough on this issue, there is a distinct possibility that it will also happen to you.”
The President made the comment as the Senate labor committee continues with its probe into what Senator Joel Villanueva said was the influx of illegal workers in the country, mostly Chinese.
Villanueva had said that the illegal workers were competing with Filipinos for jobs, as unemployment rate rose to over 20 percent.
