By Jinky Jorgio
Manila—Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez urged Filipino workers to explore the thousands of job opportunities generated by the military buildup on Guam.
“I have been meeting with the Guam officials and they are keen on hiring Filipino workers since they know that Filipinos are hard-working and very well-loved,” Romualdez, ambassador to the U.S., said during a Zoom forum with foreign correspondents in Manila on Friday.
The U.S. is investing $11 billion in Guam to accommodate the 5,000 Marines who will be relocated from Okinawa.
In June, the Biden administration’s supplemental funding request included
$3.16 billion. Of this amount, $1.32 billion is for military construction projects and$1.58 billion is for the repair of various military structures and
facilities in Guam damaged by the typhoon.
Besides defense construction, Guam’s private sector has embarked on several projects, including housing units, to support the military buildup.
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Guam, however, has been experiencing an acute labor shortage and consistently relies on the H2B program to bring foreign workers to pick up hundreds of available jobs.
“Filipino workers are welcome to work there,” Romualdez said, noting that construction and health care are among the strengths of the Philippine workforce.
The Philippines, whose economy is sustained by labor export, is Guam’s main source market for skilled manpower.
According to the Guam Department of Labor, the number of H-2B workers on Guam has surpassed the 5,000-worker mark last seen in the early 1990s. This number may increase to 6,000 to 7,000 H-2B workers in the coming years.
According to the Central Bank of the Phillippines, remittances from overseas Filipinos grew by 3.3 percent to $3.20 billion in August 2024 from $3.10 billion registered in August 2023.
Romualdez reminded Filipinos to enter U.S. soil legally, noting that Donald Trump’s return to the White House means stricter enforcement of the U.S. immigration policy.
“It will be easier and quicker for a new immigration law to be passed. Trump allies have dominated the Senate and Congress. They will craft clearer guidelines and only those who qualify can stay and live in the U.S.,” he said.
The ambassador advised Filipinos illegally staying in the U.S. to return to the Philippines first and then apply for visas. Otherwise, they would face deportation, Romualdes added.
“Once you are deported, you will be blacklisted, and you have a slim chance of entering the country again. Best to avoid being deported. Those who are hiding will soon be discovered,” he warned.
Several Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in the U.S. work in hotels and golf courses owned by Trump.
“I see no problem with Filipinos entering U.S. soil, either working or staying, as long as it done legally,” Romualdez said. “The Philippines has a lot to offer. The Filipinos and Filipino-Americans are very much appreciated in the U.S."
In 2015, the federal government removed Guam’s exemption from the 66,000 annual H-2B visa cap nationwide and stopped processing petitions from local contractors. By 2017, the number of H-2B workers went down to almost zero.
The lifting of the quota exemption for Guam was exacerbated by the Department of Homeland Security’s decision in 2019 to ban the Philippines from the H-2B program, citing the country’s high rate of visa overstay and high volume of human trafficking.
The Department of Homeland Security lifted the ban on Philippine labor in 2021, reinstating the country's eligibility for the H-2B program.
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