THE Philippine Government did not give up the job opportunities for Filipinos in Taiwan following reports that the latter has started hiring Vietnamese workers.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said it was Taiwan that decided to freeze the hiring of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) following the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by coast guards who were patrolling the territorial waters off Balintang Channel last May.
"Did we give up the opportunities? There’s a freeze hiring, it’s not our decision to give up. There’s a freeze hiring right now from the Taiwanese authorities. So, obviously, they would have to look for some other countries to fill that vacuum," he said.
Lacierda noted that the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) had advised the 6,000 OFWs who would be displaced in Taiwan of job opportunities in other countries.
Taiwan has brought up some conditions with the Philippine government, including the public disclosure of the results of the investigation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the shooting incident, before lifting the freeze hiring of OFWs.
Lacierda said the public has to wait for the results of the NBI probe.
But as of the moment, he said there was no advice yet from President Benigno Aquino III. The NBI forwarded its report to the President last June. (SDR/Sunnex)