DOJ shortens visa upon arrival for Chinese tourists to 30 days
MANILA, Philippines — Visa upon arrival for Chinese tourists would now be valid for only 30 days and would no longer be extendable due to an amendment to the original rule, the Department of Justice said.
Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete confirmed this in an interview with reporters, saying the amendment would come into effect as soon as it was published.
Further restrictions include a requirement for booked accommodations for every stop for tourists and for accredited tour operators to provide proof of accommodations.
"The new amendment makes it restrictive in a sense that if you're coming in as a tourist, you're now required to be able to get a visa upon arrival to provide tickets to go out of the Philippines, to make sure none will be overstaying," he said.
RELATED: POGOs now occupy over a million square meters of office space in Metro Manila
When VUAs were initially granted to Chinese tourists and businessmen, they were effective for three months with the option of extending another three, for a maximum stay of up to six months. Such was the part of the law that was scrapped so as to prevent overstaying.
Perete himself acknowledged that the move came as a result of the complaints surrounding POGOs.
"Part of it the POGO nga. Some have used that facility to obtain employment later on whether its POGO or any other kind of employment," he said.
He, however, was careful to point out that it was "not essentially because of the Chinese" and that it was only them being covered because of the original Executive Order by then-President Cory Aquino that granted the privilege solely to them to attract investors and boost tourism.
"We [just] want to make sure that the visa upon arrival facility would not be abused," Perete said.
READ: Locsin seeks end to visa upon arrival
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. originally wanted to have the VUA privilege scrapped altogether.
“We need to put an end to visas upon arrival, all visas should be issued by consular offices after vetting. We must take extra care in outsourcing any part of the visa application process, picking only the most reputable worldwide,” he tweeted in August 2019.
“So we curtail visas on arrival which means: visitors not vetted in our consulates abroad; planes have passengers without visas thereby incurring US Homeland Security wrath. We have to stop stamping visas on slips of paper rather than foreign passports. We need a new visa stamp."
Locsin said that the influx of Chinese nationals was seen as a security risk. In December, a survey by the Social Weather Stations revealed that 70% of Filipinos were also worried over the rise of Chinese workers in the country.
READ: Chinese nationals top foreign violators in Philippines
In a December statement, Sen. Joel Villanueva said that the benefits of Philippine offshore gaming operators or POGOs in the country were outweighed by the safety risks evidenced by the rise in kidnapping incidents involving Chinese nationals.
Data from the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group showed that incidents of kidnapping involving Chinese nationals have been steadily on the rise in the past years. From January to November of last year, the group recorded 36 casino-related kidnappings, while 69 Filipinos and foreigners were kidnapped the year before.
According to a report by property consulting firm Colliers International Philippines, the predominantly Chinese-owned offices are listed to occupy some one million square meters of office space in Metro Manila alone today.
House solons have also observed that the chief executive's words have had no effect on POGOs, as none of them have heeded his warning for them to pay taxes. Rep. Carlos Zarate (Bayan Muna party-list) has been quoted as saying that POGOs “are not afraid of our tough-talking president.”
Asked if the VUAs would cover other nationals, Perete said the department was still "studying the possibility of expanding the coverage to other nationals coming in for short stays."
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