Influx of Chinese engineers sparks protest; Mar steps in

A huge number of electrical engineers, particularly from China, have sneaked into the country to work, drawing protests from their Filipino counterparts.

Senator Mar Roxas II, chairman of the committee on trade and commerce, asked Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan to verify the presence of foreign electrical engineers and whether they are practicing their profession here, to the prejudice of Filipino practitioners.

Roxas said foreigners are not allowed to work in the country unless there are no Filipinos who have the credentials and skills necessary for the services needed.

He received a complaint from a group of Filipino engineers on the influx of foreign electrical engineers supposedly without government permits and licenses.

The complainants denounced the alleged failure of their professional organization— the Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the Philippines, led by its president Arthur Escalante, to act on the problem.

They said the group has not filed the appropriate criminal or administrative complaint with the state agencies concerned about the allegedly illegal activities of the alien engineers.

“I will inquire from the Bureau of Immigration about the complaint of the Filipino electrical engineers. The bureau should not allow foreign professionals in the country unless there is lack of services,” Roxas said.

The complaining engineers have called on the authorities to enforce Republic Act 7920 or the Electrical Engineering Law which prohibits the practice of electrical engineering in the country without the requisite certification and professional license from the Board of Engineering of the Professinal Regulation Commission.

While Filipino electrical engineers have to comply with strict regulations when practicing their profession abroad, foreign engineers can freely work in the country due to lax enforcement of laws. –Fel V. Maragay, Manila Standard Today