Duterte wants to be cautious in deporting undocumented Chinese workers

November 28, 2018

President Rodrigo Duterte said the government should be cautious in deporting undocumented tens of thousands of Chinese working in the Philippines as this could boomerang to Filipinos illegally working in China and other countries.

In an interview with reporters Tuesday night in Bohol, Duterte noted there are lots of undocumented Filipinos abroad.

"Yes, they (Chinese) should be deported. But in the same manner, you should be careful because when you point to the Chinese, you are also pointing yourself at us. There are so many thousands of Filipinos working there or went inside China as tourists and working there," he said.

The Senate has been investigating the entry of some 52,000 Chinese tourists who reportedly later on worked for online gaming casinos.

"Remember it's not just exploiting a story about the Chinese working here. We are doing the same thing in Malaysia. A lot of our women are there, in Indonesia, in China, in Korea," Duterte said.

He noted that South Korea seemed to be soft on Filipinos because of its gratitude to the Filipino soldiers who fought with the Koreans during the war there.

"But we should not also abuse their privilege that they are lenient in issuing visas to Filipinos because they knew that we helped them. But that should not be a cause for abuse," Duterte added.

Aside from the Chinese, he said there are also Indians in the Philippines.

He said it was not okay to have many Chinese illegally working in the country, "but there has to be an arrangement there."

"So if you think that you are at a lost, at the disadvantage because there are so many Chinese nationals who are working here, remember that we have seen equal amount of people of Filipinos who are there working in China. But they have not deported anyone. So maybe you can just tell them to go home," he said.

"Otherwise if you start to get rough on this issue, there is a distinct possibility that it will also happen to you. So you know when you sail your ship of state, you avoid turbulent waters."

Contrary to his predecessor, Duterte has decided to take a friendly stance with China, including on the territorial dispute.

Last week, he welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping in a state visit in the the country. Celerina Monte/DMS