6 October 2022 – The Department of Labor and Employment, through the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) and DOLE National Capital Region (NCR), held an orientation seminar on the process improvement of the issuance of Alien Employment Permits (AEPs) with DOLE Regional Offices and partner government agencies on 06 October 2022, at the Orchid Garden Suites, Manila.

Undersecretary Carmela Torres, in her opening remarks delivered by DOLE NCR Regional Director Sarah Buena Mirasol, stated that the Department’s mandate to protect local employment includes the regulation of employment of foreign nationals. She expressed her support for the goals of the seminar in harmonizing inter-agency processes for the issuance of AEPs.

DOLE seminar seeks improvement of issuance of work permits to foreign nationals

To start the seminar, Wilmer Pasague of the BLE provided an overview of DOLE’s policies as well as joint policy issuances on the employment of foreign nationals. The discussion panels that followed were led by representatives from the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Part of the discussion revolved around amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act (RTLA), Foreign Investment Act (FIA), and the Public Service Act (PSA). The event also served as a venue for the clarification of concerns from particular government agencies, specifically on the repetition of Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), visa categorization, qualification of foreign professionals, and the application of the Anti-Dummy Law.

Jerome Lucas of the BLE delivered Officer-In-Charge Patrick Patriwirawan, Jr. ‘s closing remarks on his behalf. OIC-Director Patriwirawan expressed appreciation for the representatives of the partner agencies for addressing DOLE’s questions, concerns, and clarifications on various matters related to the pertinent laws and policies covering the employment of foreign nationals.

Representatives from DOLE NCR, III, and IV-A attended the face-to-face orientation while representatives from the other regions participated via Zoom.

The orientation seminar precedes the upcoming Inter-Agency Task Force on the Employment of Foreign Nationals (IATFEFN) meeting centering on the revision of Joint Memorandum Circular 01, Series of 2019 or the Rules and Procedures Governing Foreign Nationals Intending to Work in the Philippines.