PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is still eyeing the careful deportation of illegal Chinese workers in the Philippines, Malacañang clarified on Monday, February 25, after the Chief Executive had said Filipinos should let Chinese nationals seek jobs in the country.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte's latest pronouncement was intended for Chinese workers in the country who secure working permits and comply with immigration rules.

"We wish to clarify that the President's policy on Chinese workers who are illegally staying in the country remains the same, which is the enforcement of immigration laws against violators. Our laws will be applied with full force and effect equally to all foreign nationals who violate them," Panelo said.

"Chinese workers who have working permits and compliant with immigration rules and do not violate the laws of the land will be accorded the protection they are entitled to," he added.

On Saturday, February 23, Duterte said it would be better if Chinese nationals are given the opportunity to work in the country.

The President explained that Filipinos currently working in China might suffer the most, should be decide to deport Chinese workers in the Philippines.

Duterte's latest remark came three months after he said he wanted the "careful" deportation of Chinese nationals who are illegally working in the country.

The Labor department has noted that some 51,000 of 115,652 alien employment permits have been granted to Chinese nationals from 2015 to 2017.

Panelo said the Duterte government would "cautiously" deal with Chinese migrants "perceived or alleged to be staying illegally, given the situation of thousands of Filipinos staying in China not in accordance with its laws."

He added that the current administration would act in accordance with the 1987 Constitution, but stressed that enforcement of immigration laws does not mean the government would respond "recklessly" on supposed violations of Chinese workers in the country.

"To do so would be a dangerous policy as we have, as the President stressed in his campaign rally speech, thousands of Filipinos in China and its government might enforce a policy of tit for tat to the detriment of our countrymen in China. The plight of our overseas Filipino workers remains foremost in the President's mind," Panelo said.

"Any problem however that may arise involving the entry and/or stay of Chinese citizens in blatant violation of our immigration laws will be dealt with strictly in accordance with law and with dispatch," he added. (SunStar Philippines)