Sen. Nancy Binay on Sunday scoffed at the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) policy of allowing Chinese special resident retiree visa (SRRV) applicants who are 35 years old, stressing this can be categorized as “soldier’s age.”
She considered “largely alarming” the PRA policy and cited the need for security measures and enforcement of stricter measures on the vetting process of applications regardless of nationality.
She renewed her call on the PRA to strictly screen and vet visa applications.
Earlier, the Bureau of Immigration reported an alleged “Chinese mafia” using passports for SRRV. Four Chinese nationals suspected to be behind the proliferation of fraudulently-acquired government-issued IDs and documents including genuine Philippine passports with questionable SRRVs were arrested.
Binay said these foreign nationals enter and exit the country using valid documents obtained through illicit ways.
“We expect NICA (the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency) to help assess the scale of fraud perpetrated by these syndicates and check the addresses and contact numbers provided in their ‘valid’ documents,” she said.
Binay emphasized the issuance and renewal of SRRV have long been exploited.
“Chinese syndicates have likely connived, maintained ties and established networks within the government bureaucracy,” she said.
“Visa fraud and fake identities adversely impact national security,” she further stated.
Last year, the National Bureau of Investigation arrested a high-ranking PRA official for issuing unwarranted SRRV cards to foreigners.
The BI discovered several cases of foreign nationals pretending to be Filipinos by using different Philippine documents, and genuine immigration stamps.
PRA records show that there are about 78,000 foreign retirees in the Philippines, and about 30,000 Chinese “retirees” have been allowed to permanently reside in the country.
“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. Ano ba ang monitoring mechanism ng PRA to check if these ‘retirees’ together with those who pose as ‘investor-class immigrants’ are really legit,” Binay said.
The senator added that a whole-of-government response is necessary to identify syndicates issuing fraudulently acquired government IDs including visas and passports, and tougher action against foreign nationals conducting illegal activities in the Philippines.
