Marcos wants stricter PH visa rules to address abuses

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. said Thursday that he wants stricter enforcement of visa rules in the Philippines due to reports of abuses.

In an ambush interview in Cagayan de Oro City, Marcos was asked if there is a need to impose stricter visa restrictions on Chinese nationals who enter the country. He expressed belief that this matter is not being strictly monitored as some foreigners were able to obtain fake documents to enter the country.

''Let me explain. Walang stricter rules kahit sa kanino. Pare-pareho lang ang rules sa lahat ng ating mga kaibigan na nanggagaling. Ang problema lang dahil maliwanag na maliwanag at lumalabas ang mga report na mayroon nag-aabuso nito. Kaya babantayan namin ito,'' he said.

(There are no stricter rules against a specific group. The same rules apply to all our friends. The problem is it's very clear there are reports there are those abusing it. That is why we are guarding against this.)  

''So, what we will do is to more strictly enforce. Whereas dati hindi natin masyadong tinitingnan, nakita natin maraming nagiging problema dahil diyan nakakakuha sila ng mga peke na dokumento, kung ano-ano ginagawa, may mga illegal, mga scammer, mga may human trafficking. Maraming problemang dala,'' he added.

(Whereas before we did not look closely, we have seen there are problems since these foreigners are obtaining fake documents, doing all sorts of things, some illegal, the scammers, those involved in human trafficking. They brought  many problems.)

Marcos said the government would improve its regulations on the examinations for visa applicants and for those who convert their tourist visas to student visas.

''Pantay-pantay lang lahat pero gagandahan namin ang enforcement doon sa examination doon sa mga nag-a-apply ng visa o doon sa mga nagko-convert doon sa tourist visa na student visa, at ‘yung mga bumibili ng lupa dahil [nagpapanggap] sila na Pilipino sila,'' Marcos said.

(All should be equal but we will improve enforcement in the examination for those applying for visas or those who convert tourist visas to student visas, and those who buy land while pretending they are Filipinos.)

'‘Yung mga ganong klaseng — ito ‘yung mga nakikita nating scammer, mga human trafficking, ‘yun ang binabantayan namin. Kahit naman sino basta’t ginagawa nila ‘yan, huhulihin natin,'' he added.

(These are the kinds of people — the scammers, the human traffickers, these are the ones we are looking for. Whoever they are, if they are involved in these illegal activities, we will arrest them.)

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) earlier said that tightening the visa requirements for Chinese tourists would also help the Philippines protect national security, considering the illegal activities involving Chinese nationals.

Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said that while tourism is very important to the Philippine economy, the government also needs to implement stricter measures to protect public interest.—RF, GMA Integrated News