Binay urges review of policy allowing foreigners to ‘retire’ in Philippines at 35

The Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) should review its existing policies on the issuance of special resident retiree visas to foreign nationals as young as 35 years old, Senator Nancy Binay said on Wednesday.

"It's high time to review the policy na 35 years old ka lang ay puwede ka na mag-retire dito sa Pilipinas kasi ang kailangan lang po ng magre-retire ay either mag-deposit siya ng US$50,000 sa bangko, or bumili ng condo unit worth P2.5 million at puwede nang mag-retire dito," Binay said in a statement.

Reiterating Senator Richard Gordon's point that 35 is a "soldier's age," Binay said the vetting process and background checks for foreign retirees must be stricter to reduce risks on national security.

Earlier this week, Gordon grilled the PRA for allowing Chinese nationals as young as 35 years old to retire in the Philippines.

Citing PRA data, Binay said Chinese nationals make up around 28,000 or 40% of the total 70,520 foreign retirees in the country.

She said these foreigners could also be exploiting their retiree visas to work in the country without the necessary employment documents.

"Alam naman natin at 35 years old malakas pa po ang katawan niyan. Lalong-lalo po mayroon tayong problema ngayon na kung saan may issue tayo na apparently ang mga kababayan natin ay nagkakaroon ng job displacement pagdating dito sa pagpasok ng mga Chinese nationals sa ating bansa," she said.

"Puwedeng nagtatrabaho sa POGO, or puwede din po baka nandiyan sila sa Divisoria. Kaya nga po magandang tingnan at pag-aralan kasi baka kumbaga ginagamit nila itong paraan to circumvent the law na hindi sila puwedeng mag-trabaho dito," she added.

In a separate investigation into the pastillas scheme, Senator Risa Hontiveros also flagged the entry of around four million Chinese nationals in the country since 2017.

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan urged the Department of National Defense and Armed Forces of the Philippines to look into the national security implications of a possible "soft invasion." — BM, GMA News