Only 8% of workers in China-funded projects are Chinese, says embassy

Amid criticisms that Chinese nationals are being favored over Filipino workers in China-funded infrastructure projects in the Philippines, Beijing’s envoy to Manila said Friday that Chinese workers only account for a measly single-digit percentage.

In a statement during his on-site visit of the China-aided Binondo-Intramuros bridge, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said that Chinese employees only account for less than 8% of the total staff involved in projects implemented by Chinese firms in the country.

The envoy said some major Chinese enterprises still created about 38,000 jobs with the local employee hiring rate accounting for more than 92%.

“With the further deepening of China-Philippine economic and trade cooperation, more and more job opportunities would be created accordingly by the Chinese side,” he said.

Huang said local or Filipino employees account for 77.6% of the total staff with still more local workers to be hired as the implementation dives deep, while Chinese employees are mainly managerial and technical personnel.

Senators earlier questioned why Chinese nationals accounted for at least a third of the workforce for the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge and Binondo-Intramuros Bridge construction projects, arguing the government should prioritize the creation of more job opportunities for Filipinos.

However, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the two bridge projects were donations from the Chinese government.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said foreign nationals were being employed in the country's infrastructure projects because of the required technical skills they possessed.

“Chinese enterprises in the Philippines have always attached great importance to localized development, always intending to hire local people as much as possible, being keen to practice technology transfer to the local and actively perform social responsibilities to better integrate into local society,” Huang said.

“What’s more, during the pandemic Chinese companies have donated nearly 10 million pieces of anti-epidemic medical supplies to the Philippine society according to incomplete statistics,” he said.

The 734-meter Binondo-Intramuros Bridge is a two-way four-lane bridge envisioned to provide Binondo district in Manila a new link to Intramuros.

The 506-meter Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, meanwhile, will replace the existing bridge connecting Estrella Street in Makati  City to Barangka Drive in Mandaluyong City. Once completed, the bridge can accommodate an average of 50,000 vehicles per day. -NB, GMA News