The Justice department has begun reviewing the visa-on-arrival policy generally available only to Chinese tourists to see if it should be refined or completely scrapped.
Justice Undersecretary Mark Perete revealed that the bureau’s review started about a month ago and has already identified loopholes in the system.
Perete the bureau will submit its recommendations to Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra who has control over Immigration matters.
Perete admitted that based on the initial findings of the BI, one of the loopholes identified is the length of period covered by the VUA, which is initially valid for three months and subject to a three-month extension.
Guevarra, for his part, said the foreign nationals then convert the visa into a work visa or a special work permit to be able to stay longer and work in the Philippines.
That’s where the BI needs adequate monitoring and intelligence work to prevent the use of these visas for purposes other than tourism, he said.
The Justice secretary said scrapping the VUA was an option but would hurt tourism.
“That scheme was developed to encourage tourists from China so the immediate impact if we abolish it will be on the tourism side,” Guevarra said.
Another issue that they have to look into is the security issue raised by National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon on the influx of Chinese nationals, Guevarra said.
Guevarra added after the BI’s review, they will coordinate with the Department of Foreign Affairs on the matter before deciding on whether to scrap or fine tune the system.
The BI has stepped up its campaign against illegal aliens amid calls for tighter regulation of foreigners.
In a statement, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the BI has implemented numerous changes to “ensure that only the legitimate and properly documented foreign nationals may set foot and stay in the country.”
The statement came after concerns were raised on the number of Chinese nationals coming to the Philippines.
Morente said that the BI sees the increase of foreign nationals as “just a trend” due to external factors.
“The Chinese tourism boom has brought a lot of Chinese tourists to our shores, the same can be said for other countries with popular tourist destinations,” said Morente. “They are everywhere, and this huge
tourism market is what the Department of Tourism (DOT) wanted to tap,” he added.
In a tweet, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. called for an end to the VUA privilege for foreigners.
Senator Panfilo Lacson said he supported Locsin’s suggestion.
The BI chief said the VUA program was implemented following a 2017 circular from the Department of Justice (DOJ) ordering the grant of VUA to Chinese nationals. “The move was initiated by the DOT, and the aim is to provide faster processing to attract more tourists and investors from China,” he said.
The DOT said it is open to reviewing the VUA policy. With Macon Ramos-Araneta, PNA