Recently, The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), under the directive of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM), announced that Chinese nationals will be able to go to the Philippines visa-free, provided that their purpose of visit is for vacation or business purposes only, and that they can only stay for 14 days maximum. According to both the DFA and PBBM, this measure was done to encourage economic growth and tourism.
However, when you look at this measure and look back at the diplomatic crises of the Philippines, this measure isn't as good as it seems. It can actually harm the national security of the Philippines.
Illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) have been plaguing the country with its exploitation of Filipinos and promotion of gambling; at first, it was promoted by Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (FPRRD) and the government, then it was even banned by PBBM himself.
And when you look at who dominates the POGO industry—the Chinese—we can see why.
Security issues arose when POGOs were still up and running, when the Philippine police observed criminal activities, including POGOs illegally operating overnight, the rise of undocumented Chinese workers, and a weak response from government agencies. And you wanna know how this escalated further? The ‘visa upon arrival’ policy of the Department of Tourism (DOT) back then, which practically made them visa-free.
This begs the question: why do we keep history repeating over and over?
Okay, let's say they changed the policy for tourism only. Still, Chinese nationals can get in visa-free even if their purpose is not for tourism. Just look at the infamous Alice Guo—we let her run for her mayoral post in Bamban, Tarlac—and she was actually operating illegal POGOs. What I'm saying here is that our national security is not strong enough to loosen visa requirements for foreigners; as seen in incidents like these, it's clear that we are not ready for this.
With recent diplomatic crises with China; the arrest of Alice Guo and the banning of POGOs, it's simply idiotic to loosen our immigration policy—to potentially let in more Chinese nationals that bring harm to this country, rather than help it grow.
Written by John Kerbee de Leon (Deal/Breaker), Insight PH
John Kerbee de Leon (Deal/Breaker), Insight PH is a dedicated campus journalist and contributor. Their insightful writing sparks meaningful conversations and keeps the community informed.
