PHL, China to sign deal on English teachers

By Charmaine A. Tadalan
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo R. Duterte is expected to sign an agreement with China, allowing around 100,000 Filipino teachers in English teaching opportunities there.
The Philippines is also planning to discuss the employment of domestic helpers in China, on account of the growing demand from Chinese middle-class households.
“The market of China is growing and our Philippine efforts are included there,” Mr. Duterte told reporters in a press briefing before his departure to China. “We are also in a position now — we are going to have a platform for this actually, especially the Labor Department. Tumatanggap na sila ngayon ng trabahante. (They are hiring workers now.) They are accepting, first, teachers but 1,000 — ah 100 — 100,000.”
Mr. Duterte headed to China on Monday for the annual Bo-ao Forum for Asia, where he is set to discuss Philippine economic achievements before business leaders as well as meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana in a press briefing said there are “minor details still being ironed-out,” but the agreement is likely to be signed on Tuesday.
Mr. Sta. Romana said the agreement comes after China has relaxed its rules, barring non-native speakers to teach.
“There used to be a Chinese rule that excluded the Philippines as a legal source or as a source that they encouraged. They wanted to emphasize, you know, what they called ‘native speakers,’ but they have relaxed it now,” Mr. Sta. Romana said. “So now they are more open, they are more accommodating and there’s growing need in China to learn English.”
On the possibility of the employment of Filipino domestic helpers in China, Mr. Sta. Romana said “there is growing interest on the Chinese side, particularly the high-income Chinese. They’d like not just local helpers but foreign helps.”
He added: “There’s a lot of details still to be resolved because if the Chinese market open up to us, they have to open up to other foreign markets. You know, they have to balance their policy.”
“There are a lot of problems to be solved. You know, we want to make sure that they are covered by social security,… that they’re not subject to unfair rules. So we want the assurances,” Mr. Sta. Romana also said.
Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, meanwhile, raised concerns on which country has the authority to accredit schools that will grant certificates to English teachers.
“One of the contentious issues, there is the requirement by the Chinese government that they will accredit the schools that will issue certification to our English teachers. We maintain (the) position that it should be the Philippines that will choose these schools or the college that will issue certification,” Mr. Bello told ANC.