DOLE mulling alternatives for Pinoy workers affected by freeze hiring in Taiwan


Tags: Taiwan
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is considering South Korea and other Middle Eastern countries as alternatives for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who may be affected after the Taiwan government stopped the hiring of new Filipino workers on Wednesday.

The freeze hiring order came as a protest against the death of a Taiwanese fisherman in the waters off Batanes on May 9.

Taiwan on Wednesday froze the hiring of Philippine workers and recalled its envoy to Manila in protest over the killing of a fisherman, rejecting an apology over the incident as inadequate.
 
The 65-year-old fisherman was shot dead by Philippine coastguards last week after they said his vessel had strayed into territorial waters, sparking outrage in Taiwan at a time of high tensions over regional maritime disputes.
 
Taiwan said earlier that the Philippines had apologized over the incident, but President Ma Ying-jeou insisted Manila offer a formal apology and compensation, apprehend the killer and launch talks on the fishing industry.
 
"President Ma expressed his strong dissatisfaction over the Philippines' lack of sufficient sincerity and its shifting attitude," spokeswoman Lee Chia-fei told reporters, adding that the president would recall Taipei's envoy to Manila.

Other Filipino workers not affected

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said Taiwan's decision to stop issuing working visas to Filipinos would not affect OFWs who are already working in Taiwan.

Baldoz said she has not yet received any official communication from the Taiwan officials about the “freeze order”.

“It’s only temporary and we hope that this matter would be immediately resolved,” according to Baldoz.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said it is currently processing the documents of more than 500 applicants to Taiwan.

However, with the new decision of Taiwan, POEA has consulted the employers of the Filipino applicants.

There are around 80,000 overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan, mostly factory workers or caregivers. - VVP, GMA News
Tags: Taiwan

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more