The Bureau of Immigration (BI) yesterday announced the arrest of 34 Chinese men who were suspected of working illegally in the country as construction workers.
According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the men were arrested during a raid at the Eastfield Building project site in Pasay City.
In a comic turn of events, the BI said the Filipino workers at the project site cheered when they saw their foreign colleagues being arrested.
Yo guys, you could have done that once they have totally left the building.
In a statement released to the media, BI commissioner Jaime H. Morente said that the men arrived in the country as tourists.
He said: “Initial investigation indicate that they arrived here as tourists and that they were employed as construction workers without securing the necessary work permits from the government.”
The BI said they’re double checking if the Chinese men were indeed undocumented. Those who were proven working without the necessary visas will be charged and deported.
Reportedly hired to conduct finishing works on the building, the foreigners were arrested after surveillance operations proved that they were working at the project site.
This arrest is just the latest development in the BI’s crackdown versus Chinese nationals who are staying in the country illegally.
Last week, the BI announced in a statement that they arrested 20 undocumented Chinese who were working at a mall in Divisoria, a popular shopping area in Manila.
According to GMA News, out of the 1,508 foreigners deported in 2017, 1,248 were from China.
It’s quite possible that more people from China will be coming to the country to work, given the current administration’s efforts in strengthening its ties with Beijing.
In May, Bloomberg reported that Manila’s booming gambling industry has led to an influx of Chinese people because companies would need Mandarin speakers to deal with foreign clients. This in turn has led to a property price surge in certain districts in the capital.
