Senator Kiko Pangilinan urges Taiwanese investors to hire Filipinos returning from Taiwan's chip sector

Philippine Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan told Taiwan's Central News Agency that many Filipinos gain semiconductor skills in Taiwan but return home when their contracts expire. He suggested Taiwanese investors expand in the Philippines to give those returning workers jobs.

Philippine Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan has suggested that Taiwanese investors expand their operations in the Philippines to provide jobs for Filipino workers returning from Taiwan's semiconductor sector, Focus Taiwan reported on 3 November.

Pangilinan made the remarks in an interview with Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on Monday, 2 November, in Bangkok, where he was attending the 65th Congress of Liberal International. He is a member of the Philippines' Liberal Party.

Skills that go home when contracts end

According to Focus Taiwan, Pangilinan said many Filipinos have gained valuable skills working in Taiwan's semiconductor sector but had returned to the Philippines because their employment contracts had expired. The Taipei Times carried the same CNA report on 4 November.

CNA's Chinese-language report quoted him as saying Taiwanese investors could consider investing in the Philippines so that returning workers can keep using what they learned, while also creating opportunities for Taiwanese companies to expand there.

Wider cooperation

Pangilinan said Taiwan and the Philippines should forge closer ties in democratic governance, human rights, agriculture, food security and semiconductors.

"What affects Taiwan will affect the Philippines and vice versa," he told CNA, citing the two countries' geographical proximity.

CNA's Chinese-language report also said Pangilinan disclosed that the Philippine Senate is pushing a reciprocal Taiwan–Philippines agreement to avoid double taxation, with a related resolution to be discussed after the Senate reconvenes, and that he hoped for progress by year-end.

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