Two leaders of the House of Representatives have appealed for more stringent screening measures for Chinese students entering the country due to mounting security concerns.
Assistant Majority Leaders Jil Bongalon (Ako Bicol Party-list) and Francisco Paolo Ortega V (La Union, 1st District) made the call as the Inter-Agency Committee on Foreign Students (IACFS) met to discuss the influx of Chinese nationals studying in the Philippines.
“This is a welcome development because what is at stake here is our national security, and one of the non-negotiables in our country is our national security,” Bongalon said.
“We want to make sure that the screening process of these students who are interested in entering the Philippines and having their education here should undergo a very strict process,” he added.
Bongalon highlighted the need to ensure that these foreign students do not pose a security risk or threat to the Philippines.
Ortega, for his part, emphasized the importance of the inter-agency collaboration in addressing issues such as the influx of foreign nationals.
“I would just like to urge this newly formed interagency to look into the issue because that is really their job,” Ortega said. He further stressed the need for government agencies to anticipate and address trends proactively.
IACFS, comprising the Commission on Higher Education, Bureau of Immigration, National Bureau of Investigation, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Department of Foreign Affairs, and Department of Education, convened a crucial meeting on Monday.
The meeting followed calls from both houses of Congress for investigations into the surge of Chinese students in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan province.
Bongalon earlier proposed that the House should consider initiating a parallel investigation into the alleged ties between Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban town in Tarlac and China.
Guo is currently under investigation in the Senate for her alleged involvement in facilitating and supporting an illegal Chinese gambling site in Bamban.
Senators have raised doubts about Guo’s identity, even questioning if she holds Chinese citizenship due to her unclear background, including her lack of formal education.
