Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar on Wednesday explained why foreigners, specifically Chinese nationals, were employed in the country’s infrastructure projects.
Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan asked Villar if employing Chinese workers is required to get an infrastructure contract inked.
“No, it is not a condition. A lot of these new projects, they do come with new technologies, and it will require some specialization. Therefore, sometimes, in some of our projects, you see some level of foreign workers, not necessarily Chinese. We have Japanese. We have Korean… There are certain special skills that they have that we need in order to complete the project,” Villar said during a senate hearing on the proposed P666.47-billion budget of DPWH for 2021.
“A majority are still Filipinos, an overwhelming majority are still Filipinos,” he added.
Villar added that working with foreign nationals could be considered part of technology transfer, ultimately benefiting the country.
DPWH Undersecretary Emil Sadain also said that DPWH still employs more Filipinos than Chinese workers in Manila’s two bridge projects.
The ratio for the construction of the Estrella-Pantaleon bridge is 69% Filipinos and 31% Chinese workers.
DPWH hires Chinese workers in infra projects
Meanwhile, 55% of the workers in the Binondo-Intramuros project are Filipinos, and the remaining 45% are Chinese.
Sadain said that Filipino and Chinese workers’ ratio varies depending on the technical specifications and materials used in the infrastructure projects.
Pangilinan noted that the construction industry registered the largest drop in employment in the second quarter of 2020 at 30%.
“It is really imperative for the government to be able to create jobs and also protect existing jobs,” he said.
In August, Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed 45 percent of adult Filipinos were jobless in July amid the continuous increase of COVID-19 cases and implementation of community quarantines in the country.
The survey was conducted from July 3 to 6, with 1,555 respondents. Results showed unemployment increased by 28 points from 17.5 percent in December 2019, and a new record-high since the 34.4 percent in March 2012.