SEN. Joel Villanueva yesterday said the Bureau of Immigration (BI) would be in a better position to issue Digital Nomad Visas (DNV) to foreigners who want to work in the country since the agency already has a database of foreigners who have criminal records.
Villanueva brought up the idea after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order No. 86, which authorizes the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to issue DNVs to non-immigrant foreigners who want to temporarily stay in the Philippines to work remotely over a short period of time.
Villanueva said allowing the BI to issue the DNVs can be a safeguard since it can screen applicants, thus preventing Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators-like individuals and other illegal aliens from illicitly working or staying in the country.
He said the BI database has access to records from the International Criminal Police Organization, the Department of Justice, and the National Bureau of Investigation, which will be vital in screening DNV applicants.
He said that he is open to discussing his proposal with concerned government agencies.
He believes that there are still honest and good BI personnel, even if some of them got involved in a number of controversies, like the seamless entry of Chinese workers through the “pastillas scam” and the escape of a Korean fugitive while attending a court hearing in a Quezon City court.
Villanueva said this is the reason why he is asking the President to include in the list of priority measures the passage of the Digital Nomad Visa Act, which he filed.
“That’s why I wanted the Bureau of Immigration to be the ones issuing (the DNVs) because in the EO, it’s the Department of Foreign Affairs that would issue the visas,” he added.
“The BI also has police powers; it can conduct raids,” he added.
Villanueva said having a law on DNVs will institutionalize the policy, unlike an EO, which can be revoked at any given time, especially when there is a change in the country’s leadership.
“Another thing is that the EO is very simple and cannot be challenged anymore. It wasn’t discussed with the representatives of the people. I think having a law on DNVs carries more weight. We can have a legal basis, long-lasting, and more sustainable,” he said.
And at the same time, accountability [of public officials] will be well-defined,” he added.
