Philippines needs 4 million construction workers – solon

By Ellson Quismorio, Manila Bulletin, Sep 5, 2019

If Construction Workers’ Solidarity (CWS) Party-List Rep. Romeo Momo Sr. is to be believed, then there’s an alarming lack of construction workers in the country that’s slowly but surely being filled by foreigners.

Speaking during Thursday’s Party-List Coalition Foundation, Inc. (PCFI) forum at the House of Representatives, Momo said he learned from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that the Philippines is short of four million construction workers.

“Sa data ng DOLE, four million ang pangangailangan natin ng construction workers (Based on DOLE’s data, we need four million construction workers). I asked them if we have enough supply of this. Ang sabi nila, ‘Wala.’ Totoo, wala na nga (They said, ‘There is none.’ It’s true, there’s none),” he told reporters.

“In fact, nakipag-usap ako sa Philippine Contractors’ Association, another big construction corporation. Ano sabi nila, ang hiring ng kanilang construction workers ngayon, hanggang Mindanao na. Wala nang makitang tao dito for construction workers. Ganoon kabigat (In fact, I spoke with the Philippine Contractors’ Association, another big construction corporation. They said they are now looking to hire construction workers as far as Mindanao. They can’t find people anymore for construction work. That’s how serious it is),” added Momo, a former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary for regional operations.

But the question is, what caused this dearth of Filipino construction workers? Where are they?

“’Yung iba, napunta sa ibang bansa (Others have migrated to other countries). [And because of] the sheer number of number of projects, talagang kulang na kulang (they are really lacking),” the PCFI member-solon said.

Momo said that out of the deficit of four million construction workers, 20 percent of them or 800,000 are jobs reserved for “skilled” laborers. These involve carpenters, masons, welders, electricians, painters, and similar positions that are key in construction work.

“That may be the reason there is an influx of skilled workers coming from other countries,” he said, noting that more and more Chinese, Korean, and Japanese individuals are finding work in the Philippines.

Momo claimed that as far as these skilled workers are concerned, Filipinos haven’t been at par with those coming from other countries.

The construction industry is looking for these skills [and] although it’s available in the Philippines, it may not be [at] par with the skills of other countries in Asia.

Asked if the hiring of foreign skilled workers over their Filipino counterparts violates local labor laws, Momo answered: “Wala naman if talagang legal yung entry ng foreign workers (There’s no violation if the foreign worker entered the country legally). If undocumented, there is [a violation].”

He reckoned that construction companies would still prefer to hire Filipinos since foreign workers command higher salaries as well as access to lodging amenities.

The solution to this problem, the lawmaker said, is commitment from the government to improve its skills training program through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

“How skilled are our skilled workers? Can they compete with the skilled workers of other countries?” Momo wondered.

He noted that the Philippines could also follow the model of Malaysia, which according to him established its on academy for construction workers.

“’Yun ang pino-propose ko sa TESDA, mayroon silang training program but their training program is halu-halo (That’s what I’m proposing to TESDA, they have a training program but it’s multi-faceted).

“Sana, ihiwalay natin (We should keep construction work from the rest) because of the Build, Build, Build program of the government and the increasing investment in terms of infrastructure,” Momo said.