THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said it will need 5,000 labor inspectors to monitor foreign workers, and estimated the funding requirement at P2.5 billion.

DoLE said in a statement on Thursday that Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III told Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III that he will need 5,000 more labor law compliance officers (LLCOs) to monitor foreign workers as well as carry out inspections in establishments with no foreign workers.

“Considering the numbers involved, we need additional LLCO’s and he (Mr. Dominguez) said, how many do you need? I said, ideally we need 5,000, then they computed and said it will cost about P2.5 billion but it will also result in tax collection of about P22 to P40 billion pesos, so he said go,” Mr. Bello said.

Mr. Bello said discussions are still ongoing between Depatyment of Finance (DoF) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“As soon as we receive the (funding), we will deploy them immediately. Talks are ongoing,” he said.

DoLE currently has over 800 labor inspectors for monitoring labor law compliance in some 900,000 private establishments nationwide.

Last week, DoLE met meeting with the DoF, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Justice (DoJ), Bureau of Immigration (BI), and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) on the issuance of work permits for foreign workers. The participants were provided a list of foreign workers employed by by Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

The agencies are expected to come out with a joint memorandum order soon on the issuance and guidelines regarding alien employment permits (AEP) and other special working permits for foreign workers. — Gillian M. Cortez

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