INTERVIEW Caregivers will handle child care, household chores: Filipino FM
Philippine Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo speaks of the burgeoning bilateral relations between Korea and the Philippines during an interview with The Korea Times at the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, Aug. 8. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
The role of Filipino caregivers in Korea has sparked a controversy due to ambiguous descriptions of their responsibilities, raising questions about whether their duties should include not only child-related tasks, but also household chores.
However, in a recent interview with The Korea Times, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo clarified that the caregivers will assist with not only child care but also household chores, in accordance with the pilot project guidelines set by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
“They would help basically in carrying out daily activities with the families. This would include caregiving, cleaning, laundry, kitchen work and child care. They will be taking care of the basic daily chores for these specific families, enabling the parents to undertake economic activities or go to work,” he said during the interview held at the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, Aug. 8.
According to guidelines for the pilot project managed by the labor ministry and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, the primary duty is caregiving. This includes tasks such as dressing children, bathing them, preparing infant food and preparing meals for pregnant women.
In addition to caregiving, other tasks may be performed to some extent. For services extending beyond six hours, they are permitted to wash and dry adults' clothes, clean dishes, and vacuum or mop floors. However, they are not responsible for tasks such as taking out the trash, cooking meals for adults, hand mopping, or organizing storage.
One hundred Filipino caregivers arrived in Korea Aug. 6. They are participating in the pilot program managed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. They will receive a total of 160 hours of specialized training over four weeks before officially starting their services on Sept. 3.
The four-week specialized training includes lessons on basic living laws, sexual harassment prevention, child care, and household management duties, as well as Korean language and cultural orientation.
This initiative, led by the Ministry of Employment and Labor in Korea, was a collaborative effort aimed at supporting the country’s growing need for caregiving professionals.
“This issue has been in the works for some time and it was actually spearheaded by the Ministry of Employment in Korea,” Manalo said. “I think the proposal came and they sought our assistance to see whether we could provide this kind of assistance. Naturally, given our very close and strong partnership, we were eager to respond to this initiative by the Korean government.”
The caregivers, who underwent several months of extensive training in their home country, are now prepared to undertake their responsibilities in Korea.
“When they arrived, they were ready to assume their duties,” Manalo said. “It signifies the importance we attach to helping our friends and partners, as caregivers integrate into Korean families, they will learn more about each other, strengthening our relationship in the future. It’s also a symbol of the closeness of our two countries.”
Philippine caregivers arrive at Incheon International Airport, Aug. 6, as part of Korea's pilot project aimed at supplying foreign workers to domestic households. Joint Press Corps
There are no immediate plans to expand the program beyond this initial group, but the Philippines is open to increasing cooperation.
“At the moment, we’ll start off with this first batch of caregivers and see how it develops,” Manalo said. “But again, as I said, given our strong relationship, we would like to help ROK wherever we can.”
These workers are hired by service-providing agencies certified under the Household Workers Act as part of the Employment Permit System (E-9). They are aged between 24 and 38 and hold the Caregiving NC II certification accredited by the Philippine government. They have also undergone evaluations of their English and Korean language skills, health check-ups and background checks for drug use and criminal records.
Strategic partnership
Manalo seeks to elevate bilateral ties with Korea through the signing of a strategic partnership later this year, marking the 75th anniversary of bilateral ties.
“President Yoon (Suk Yeol) will be visiting the Philippines, and we hope that by the time of his visit, we will be able to sign an agreement or a document elevating our relationship to a strategic partnership," Manalo said. "That would be a historic development, especially on the 75th year of our relationship."
Anticipation of Yoon's upcoming visit to the Philippines is accelerating the discussions.
"I don't have the exact date, but probably around October. We have to wait until we get an official announcement on exactly when, but we are hopeful that it will be in October," Manalo said. "During his visit, we aim to sign or at least formalize the strategic partnership."
Manalo emphasized the benefits of such a strategic partnership, highlighting the political commitment to strengthening and expanding cooperation in various fields.
"With that strategic partnership, we will have definitely a political commitment to not only strengthen our cooperation but build it and even find new areas of cooperation such as renewable energy and tackling cybercrime," he said. "It’s an official pronouncement that we are committed to making our relationship even stronger and broader."
Addressing potential areas of mutual growth, Manalo identified energy, agriculture, infrastructure and tourism as key sectors.