The Philippine government is giving "flexibility" to China in hiring its nationals to construct its two donated bridges in Metro Manila, Malacanang said on Wednesday.

In a television interview, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge in Makati City and the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge in Manila are "100 percent donations" from the Chinese government.

"So, I think that should give us the proper perspective. It’s being given to us 100 percent. We don’t pay back anything for the building of these bridges and that is why we need to give them some flexibility in the personnel that they have hired," he said.

In a recent Senate budget hearing for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Undersecretary Emil Sadain said that 45 percent of the workers in the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge were Chinese and the remaining 55 percent were Filipinos.

As for the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, he said that 31 percent were Chinese while 69 percent were Filipino workers.

Roque appealed to give China "some leeway" in hiring people on its two funded projects in the country.

"Had this been a project that we would pay for using taxpayers’ money, of course government would insist that aside from highly technical positions, that Philippine labor should be employed," he said.

"The general rule is foreigners should be hired only when there is not enough Filipinos able and with the capacity to perform the work. But again, of course, please realize that this is 100 percent donation to us by the Chinese government," Roque added. Celerina Monte/DMS