Nearly 5,000 Filipinos are awaiting the lifting of restrictions for entry into Taiwan.
According to Philippine Labor Attaché Cesar Chavez Jr, the affected applicants include new hires and returning workers who left Taiwan for a vacation in the Philippines.
Chavez said Taiwan had closed its border to countries with high COVID-19 cases including the Philippines.
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According to Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 11 out of the 14 imported cases seen during the first two weeks of August involved people who arrived from the Philippines.
“Isa pang nakikita namin dyan kaya siguro hindi pa rin sila nagbukas kung okay naman dito sa Taiwan, ‘yung pinanggalingan tulad ng mga labor-centric countries tulad sa’tin d’yan sa Pilipinas na more than 10,000 a day ‘yung infection,” Chavez said.
“‘Yung mga andito naman (sa Taiwan) ay pwedeng magtuloy-tuloy sa trabaho. ‘Yung mga additional lang na demand ay additional needs for workers, ‘yun muna ang mape-pending,” he added.
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Majority of pending applications are workers in the semiconductor manufacturing industry.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the biggest company in Taiwan, earlier this month warned that the global semiconductor shortage may continue until 2022. More than half of the workers in the industry are Filipinos. (AW)
