KALIBO, Aklan – The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Aklan (SP) has recommended the creation of Aklan Provincial Tourist Regulatory and Enforcement Unit (TREU) to monitor the status of foreigners illegally staying and working in the province.
The creation of Aklan Provincial TREU was recommended in the consolidated report No. 2018-240 of the committees on environmental protection, health and social services, human resource, disaster preparedness and peace and order as well as the committees on labor and employment, tourism, trade and industry and commerce.
Two committee hearings on March 13 and Dec. 18 were conducted amid the increasing number of undocumented aliens or foreign workers, around 2,000, without proper permits in Boracay Island.
On Jan. 30, SP member Nemesio Neron said they also proposed to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to track down foreigners and to check the nature of their work in Boracay Island and the province of Aklan.
In Aklan, there are only 163 foreigners who have been issued the required Alien Employment Permit (AEP). Of the number, only 123 foreign workers in Boracay Island have AEPs and the rest are working in the capital town of Kalibo.
Neron also urged the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) for the deployment of additional immigration agents to check reports and to apprehend undocumented aliens in Boracay and the province of Aklan. (Akean Forum/PN)
