FIRST SAY: I learned that very often the most intolerant and narrow-minded people are the ones who congratulate themselves on their tolerance and open-mindedness.
— Christopher Hitchens
Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers on Monday called on Malacañang to repeal former president Joseph Estrada’s Executive Order 285 which empowers the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to convert tourist visas into student visas.
Under EO 285, an inter-agency committee on foreign students was created, chaired by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) and Department of Education (DepEd) as members.
Cong Barbers’ position on the matter is easily understood. He said, “In today’s setting, this particular power by the BI can be abused. This arbitrary power to convert visas is the worst legalized scheme that can be used by unscrupulous personnel for monetary gain.”
“The 16,200 student visas that the BI granted to Chinese nationals in 2023 is simply unacceptable. Never mind if other countries grant more, we should never use that as our yardstick given our tense relationship with China,” he said.
He stressed that the visa-conversion power should be reserved to the DFA, which alone possesses the expertise to determine whether the foreigners asking that their tourist visas be changed into student visas is eligible or not.
Several lawmakers from the House of Representatives and the Senate, including Barbers, are asking a probe on the increasing number of Chinese students in the country, particularly in sensitive areas like Cagayan where military bases are situated.
As this developed, Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez urged the DFA to impose stricter visa controls on Chinese nationals, whether they are students or POGO workers.
“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,” he said.
The country must “be on the lookout for Trojan horses among them,” said Rufus.
It may be recalled that Rufus Rodriguez was the commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration during the time of President Joseph Estrada. He probably has something to do with the drafting of Erap’s Executive Order No. 285 as it gave his agency broader powers over visas. As BI chief, Rufus advises President Erap on these matters, of course, along with the Executive Secretary.
It is fair to ask then if Ruckus—err, Rufus Rodriguez—would need to share responsibility in the messy affair of thousands of Chinese students now being allowed to study in the universities in the province of Cagayan in the north, not Cagayan de Oro which is in the south. Why Cagayan? Because it is an EDCA military site and the province is very near Taiwan.
The congressman from Cagayan de Oro has noted that POGO personnel and Chinese students enrolled in Cagayan schools have been suspected of spying for the Chinese military, Rodriguez noted.
He also urged the DFA, BI and CHED to conduct an inventory of Chinese students in Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, the Cordillera Administrative Region and other parts of the country amid conflicting reports on their number. CHED should probe if there is a pattern of Chinese students migrating to areas near Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sites, he said.
It is good that the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has expressed support to the Department of Foreign Affairs’ plan to implement stricter rules for the issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals. The DFA cited cases of fraudulently acquired visas and crimes related to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO).
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said this is a welcome development for the BI.
“We project that there will be fewer exclusions, given that arriving tourists have been better filtered during their visa applications at the Philippine posts abroad,” he added. The DFA’s move would provide another strong layer of protection against foreigners who might have intentions inimical to state security, he noted.
Based on BI data in 2023, 3,359 foreigners were denied entry. A majority had questionable purposes for travel and were tagged as likely to become a public charge. Of the number, 885 were citizens of China.
Based on previous news reports, there have been instances wherein POGOs were linked to crimes such as human trafficking, forcible abduction, homicide, illegal detention, kidnap-for-ransom, theft, robbery-extortion, serious physical injuries, swindling and grave coercion.
Tansingco believes that stricter visa issuance would have little impact on the country’s tourism.” The move is really just filtering out those undesirables that are trying to enter the country. Regular tourists need not be worried,” he added.
In 2023, the BI said Chinese nationals were the fifth largest group of foreign tourists in 2023 with 246,179 tourist arrivals. Ahead on the list were South Koreans with 1,467,051 arrivals, followed by Americans, Japanese and Australians.
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