House deputy majority leader and ACT CIS partylist Rep. Erwin Tulfo is filing a resolution today urging Congress to investigate the processes for the issuance of Special Resident Retiree’s Visas (SRRV), Special Investor’s Resident Visa (SIRV), and the delayed registration of births as possible avenues enabling the influx of Chinese nationals in the Philippines.
“The continued influx of Chinese nationals is alarming and how they are able to enter the country is much more alarming. What documents do they have that allows them to work legally in our country?” Tulfo said in a statement.
He said that based on the reports of the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA), there are more than 30, 000 Chinese “retirees” out of the 79,000 foreign retirees who were allowed to permanently reside in the country.
A senator had earlier warned that alleged Chinese gang members passing themselves off as retirees could compromise national security.
Sen. Nancy Binay had issued the warning following the arrest of four Chinese using passports with special resident retiree visas (SRRVs).
She noted the increasing incidents of Chinese using genuine Philippine documents to claim Filipino trader or retiree status.
“The growing number of interceptions of Chinese nationals presenting authentic government-issued Philippine documents identifying them as Filipino traders or retirees has now become a national security concern?” Binay said, referring to the Philippine Retirement Authority.
PRA general manager Bob Zozobrado, for his part, said while the agency has been accepting retirees who are at least 35 years old since 1991, the age requirement has since been raised to 50 in April 2021.
Zozobrado said there are also existing mechanisms to check if retirees are legitimate.
“Clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation is also required for foreigners who have been staying in the Philippines for more than ninety days,” he said in a statement.
“Aside from these requirements, and as another layer of security, the Bureau of Immigration also checks in its system whether the applicant has a derogatory record before entering the Philippines as tourist and before approval of the SRRVisa application. In short, BI does the vetting twice. Derogatory checking is also required when the SRRVisa holder needs to transfer the visa sticker from the old to the new passport,” Zozobrado added.
As to the arrested Chinese nationals, Zozobrado said it was not yet clear if they are legitimate holders or SRRVs.