MANILA - "Does the truth hurt?"

Special envoy to China Ramon Tulfo had this to say after a labor group asked him to apologize and retract his earlier statement that employers prefer Chinese over Filipino workers because they work harder.

"To the Filipino construction workers: Why should I apologize to you for telling the truth that you’re basically lazy and a slowpoke? Does the truth hurt?" Tulfo said in a tweet Saturday.

To the Filipino construction workers: Why should I apologize to you for telling the truth that you’re basically lazy and a slowpoke? Does the truth hurt?

— Ramon Tulfo (@RamonTulfoII) March 9, 2019

Tulfo earlier compared Chinese workers over Filipino laborers, who he said "always smoke and keep talking."

“You know why developers prefer Chinese workers? They're hardworking. When Filipino workers go to a job site, that's only when they will start preparing their tools, whereas Chinese workers are already prepared. Filipino workers always smoke and keep talking,” told CNN Philippines’ On The Record.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on Friday called Tulfo's remarks an act of betrayal against Filipinos.

• Labor group slams Mon Tulfo over controversial remarks about Filipino workers

“Coming from him as the country's special envoy to China, these statements are uncalled for, unpatriotic and acts of betrayal to his countrymen," TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said.

"Particularly to Filipino workers who built and continues to build our economy and the economies of other countries, whether they work here or abroad."

Mendoza added that the Filipinos are the "most sought-after type of workers compared to other nationalities because of their high quality of doing their work.”