DOLE won’t require police clearance from workers

The Department of Labor and Employment will not require national police clearances from workers, DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said yesterday.

Bello said requiring workers to present police clearances for every transaction with the DOLE would bring “more harm than good.”

“We are with the Philippine National Police in building a safer place for all Filipinos. But we can achieve this without adding burden to the people we serve,” he said in a letter to PNP chief Gen. Debold Sinas.

The PNP has asked Bello to require national police clearances for transactions with the DOLE.

Based on a survey conducted by the DOLE, Bello said 94 percent of employers and workers are against the proposal of Sinas.

“It is a form of red tape and an additional financial burden to the people,” the labor chief said.

The suggestion of the PNP contradicts President Duterte’s policy of ensuring efficient delivery of government services, Bello said.