Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente on Saturday said the Bureau of Immigration revealed they are set to release new guidelines on issuing special work permit with the Department of Labor and Employment.

This after President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed Department of Justice- Bureau of Immigration, Special Provision No. 2 on “Special Work Permit” saying the intricacies brought about by the influx of foreign workers and immigrants in the country require collaborative efforts.

Thus it is imperative that the regulation should be a shared responsibility of the BI and DOLE, Duterte's veto message said.

Morente, in a statement, said they are in talks with DOLE to craft guidelines in issuing permits to foreign workers.

“Ensuring compliance of foreign workers in the Philippines is part of the mandates of both BI and DOLE. We cannot choose one mandate over the other,” he said.

“We must combine our efforts to ensure that foreign workers who stay in the country comply with our laws,” he added.

The commissioner said they are just “fine-tuning some aspects of the guidelines, but we have already harmonized our laws”. Ella Dionisio/DMS