CAGAYAN de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez yesterday said stricter controls imposed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Chinese nationals applying for tourist visas should cover other Chinese citizens seeking to enter the country.
“I am urging the DFA and our diplomatic posts in China to apply these stricter rules on all China’s nationals applying for whatever type of visa, whether they are businessmen, tourists, workers, or students,” said Rodriguez, a former immigration commissioner.
Rodriguez issued the call amid heightened tension between the Philippines and China in the wake of Beijing’s continued aggression in the West Philippine Sea, the most recent of which is the water cannoning of Philippine Coast Guard vessels near Panatag Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc and Scarborough Shoal.
The tightened visa requirements for Chinese nationals was announced by the DFA last week. It includes requiring social insurance certificates as part of the verification process. The DFA said this is apart from usual documentary requirements for those who are applying for visa to enter the country, which includes proof of financial capability, a notarized letter of support from a host in the Philippines, if applying for an individual visa, and hotel and airfare bookings.
The DFA said it decided on the change due to the submission of fraudulent documents on the Chinese side but clarified the move is not related to national security in connection with the tension with China in disputed areas in the South China Sea.
The DFA said the move is intended to “weed out the illegitimate and unsavory tourists from the legitimate ones.”
Rodriguez called for “a more comprehensive and stringent vetting of Chinese visa applicants for the sake of peace and order in the country, and our national security.”
“Let us be on the lookout for Trojan horses among them,” he added.
Rodriguez also pointed out that many Chinese who have entered the country as employees of Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators, or POGOs, “are involved in illicit activities such as murder, extortion and kidnapping, and caused social ills like prostitution.”
Rodriguez has filed a bill seeking to ban POGO operations. The measure has been approved by the House committee on games and amusement.
He noted that Chinese, particularly students enrolled in schools in Cagayan province, are suspected to be spying for their government.
He echoed concerns aired by Cagayan Rep. Joseph Lara over the influx of Chinese students in his province after the government identified a naval base in Sta. Ana town in Cagayan as an additional site for the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) activities with the United States.
Another EDCA site in the region is a military camp in Gamu, Isabela.
Rodriguez urged the DFA, Bureau of Immigration and the Commission on Higher Education to conduct an inventory of Chinese citizens studying in universities not only in Cagayan but also in neighboring Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and the Cordillera Administrative Region, and the entire country, in the wake of conflicting reports on their number.
According to the immigration bureau, 1,516 Chinese citizens were granted student visas in Cagayan in 2023, while Lara said over 4,000 Chinese students are in the province.
Rodriguez said even if the BI figure is correct, “that is still a large concentration of Chinese students in one province.”
“What courses are they taking up there? he asked, adding that CHED should find out what attracted Chinese students to the Northern Luzon province.
He said enrollment of many Chinese students is also happening in other colleges and universities in the country and “CHED should also look into whether there is the same pattern of Chinese student migration to other EDCA sites and other colleges and universities In the country.”
“This is a matter of national security and should be investigated by the authorities immediately,” Rodriguez said.
‘ADDED SECURITY LAYER’
The Bureau of Immigration yesterday said the DFA move to tighten visa rules for Chinese visitors would also help the country in protecting national security.
Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said this is considering illegal activities involving Chinese nationals.
Sandoval said while encouraging Chinese nationals to visit the country is good for the economy, authorities also cannot overlook the issue of national security.
“If there are engaging in illegal activities, I think it’s also important to have strict measures if we see anything different happening, or activities that are probably inimical to national security or public interest,” Sandoval told radio dzBB in mixed Filipino and English.
She said several Chinese nationals have been found involved in illegal activities such as in online gambling, prostitution, human trafficking, fraud, and kidnapping.
Sandoval said the DFA’s move tightening visa rules is “really an added layer of security in assessing arriving, incoming passengers.”
In March this year, the BI excluded, or prevented, the entry of 76 Chinese nationals for various immigration-related violations.
Last year, 3,359 foreign nationals were prevented entry.
Immigration Commissioner said the rise in exclusions are a result of intelligence information received by the agency’s immigration protection and border enforcement section that many of those foreigners are working for illegal gambling hubs in the country. — With Ashzel Hachero
