HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The governor’s permit czar is working closely with the Guam Department of Labor in processing H-2B workers out of the Philippines, which is seeing a backlog.
Former Gov. Carl Gutierrez, president of the Guam Visitors Bureau, was most recently tasked by the governor to oversee improvements in the government’s permitting process, as part of the effort to jump-start Guam’s Covid-19 pandemic-stricken economy.
During a GVB board meeting Thursday, Gutierrez said that effort is tied into the reopening of the island in general but also will help with the tourism industry.
“It’s really the process of getting permits in a timely manner and that was hindering development here,” he said, noting that one of the first things they did was submit a bill to the Legislature that would help fast-track permits for temporary workforce housing.
“And that has now passed into…Public Law 36-2. So that’s part of this process because when we start giving out funds for upgrades of hotel rooms – remember we’re trying to raise the status of our rooms to get more higher-paying tourists to come to Guam. And there are applications for, not only qualifying certificates, but further mission … to upgrade the rooms,” he said.
H-2B backlog
Gutierrez said there currently are 900 pending applications for skilled workers from Guam’s neighbor to the west.
“Now the Philippine government requires you to send (applications) to the consul in Los Angeles, which sometimes takes too long,” he said.
“That would be the next step for us to make sure we have the H-2 workers coming in a timely manner, not only to upgrade our hotel rooms, but to build our new projects.”
Gutierrez said there are 1,500 H-2Bs on the island.
“We’re expecting another 3,000 H-2Bs to be coming by the summertime,” Gutierrez added.
“So this is very important not only for the Guam economy but certainly for some of the long-range plans of GVB.”
