8 Chinese working without permits

EIGHT Chinese employed in two mining sites in Eastern Samar were recently arrested for working without the required permits, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Tuesday.

Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said the aliens were arrested by BI intelligence operatives inside the compounds of the Yinshu Mining Corp. and Din Shing Mining Inc. in Barangay Caradapan, Eastern Samar last Feb. 6.

Those arrested were identified as Xue Guanghu, Enqing Xie, Lou Zheng Nan, Hong Bing Yin, Dong Chunhui Li Shaohua, Zuang Guangyu, and Mo Jiacheng.

David said he issued the mission order for the operation after informants tipped the BI about the presence of scores of Chinese nationals who were allegedly employed at the mining firms without the required working visas from the Bureau.

He added that the eight arrested Chinese nationals were all caught in the act of working for the mining firms but were not able to present their work permits.

Foreigners employed in the Philippines are required by law to secure their alien employment permit (AEP) from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and working visa from the BI.

Meanwhile, David said the immigration bureau has launched a crackdown against foreigners illegally working in the country.

“We will continue to go after these illegally working aliens. Their presence here deprives our Filipino workers of much needed job opportunities,” David said.

Lawyer Ma. Antonette Mangrobang, BI acting intelligence chief, said the bureau will step up its operations against illegally working aliens, especially in the provinces where their presence even in far-flung areas have been reported. –ROMMEL C. LONTAYAO, Manila Times