A BILL strengthening the penalties for improperly employing foreign nationals and requiring them to transfer technology to Filipino employees has cleared the House Committee on Labor and Employment.
House Bill 8368 proposes to amend the Labor Code of the Philippines, requiring employers to determine the unavailability of qualified Filipinos before hiring foreigners, and also requiring foreigners to transfer technology by training local replacements.
The bill defines the acceptable condition for hiring foreigners as the “non-availability of qualified and willing Filipino nationals.”
“The proposed amendment of the provision in the Labor Code is to facilitate uniformity by properly stating the term used by the Philippines in its commitments,” said Aurora Rep. Bellaflor J. Angara-Castillo in the bill’s explanatory note.
“Foreign nationals issued employment permits shall transfer technology to Filipino understudies within a prescribed period,” the bill added.
Foreign nationals or employers found to have violated the law face fines of P50,000 to P100,000 and imprisonment of six months to six years, or both.
Violators are currently fined P1,000 to P10,000 and face imprisonment of three months to three years. — Charmaine A. Tadalan
