Tuguegarao City Mayor Maila Ting Que. Photo courtesy of Tuguegarao City Information Office/FacebookTuguegarao City Mayor Maila Ting Que. Photo courtesy of Tuguegarao City Information Office/Facebook

MANILA — Tuguegarao Mayor Maila Ting Que on Sunday decried the “unfair” scrutiny of Chinese students in her city, saying fears that they may be threats to national security are baseless.

Tuguegarao is home to universities that the Commission on Higher Education recognizes as centers of excellence, she said, making the attractive to foreign students.

“Napaka unfair (This is very unfair) to all the institutions who worked so hard for the credibility they have now,” she told ABS-CBN News in a virtual interview.

“We’re very, very disappointed by what has come out. We’ve been fighting so hard to promote educational tourism,” she said.

“Now it’s being eroded, it is being questioned. There is a cloud hanging oiver us. It’s very painful,” she added.

READ: PH intelligence officials probing alleged influx of Chinese students in Cagayan

Cagayan province is also home to two military sites that American troops can use under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which has made some sectors nervous about the perceived increase in Chinese nationals there.

A lawmaker has already filed a resolution seeking a House investigation.

Under House Resolution No. 1666, Cagayan Rep. Joseph Lara said that the number of Chinese nationals in his home province has become “highly suspicious and alarming.”

He said that “[w]ith the prevailing situation in the West Philippine Sea, and in view of Cagayan’s strategic geographical location, the increasing number of Chinese students in the province poses serious concern to the national security of the Philippines.”

'CONGRESSMAN COULD HAVE ASKED FIRST'

Ting Que slammed the resolution, saying the congressman did not even bother to ask the local government about the situation before filing the resolution.

“Wala man lang intra-governmental courtesy na ginawa itong mga congressman na ito,” the mayor said.

(These congressmen did not even extend any intra-governmental courtesy)

The mayor said that Tuguegarao has seen waves of foreign students — from India and South Korea — in the past and that hosting them is nothing new for the city.

“Madami in a sense na you see them but not enough to overwhelm a barangay, a school or even a community,” she added.

(There are a lot of foreigners in a sense that you see them, but the number is not enough to overwhelm a village, a school or even a community.)

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'AN INSULT TO THE CITY'

While data from the Bureau of Immigration showed that there are around 1,500 Chinese students in Cagayan, the Tuguegarao mayor said the city does not have a tally of foreign students there.

CHED, in a statement last week, said that there is "a significant number" of Chinese students enrolled at Saint Paul University Philippines, which is found in the city. 

According to the university's website, it is a Center for Excellence in Nursing and in Teacher Education, and is a Center for Development in Information Technology.

Ting Que said her constituents are upset and insulted over insinuations that foreign students are coming to Tuguegarao due to its proximity to EDCA sites, and not for the quality of education that schools in the city offer.

“We are the regional government center as well as a center for educational excellence… We have 100-percent passing rate in boarding exams,” she said.

She added that school fees are lower in Tuguegarao and the city is safe, has good hospitals and is a gateway to other provinces in the region.

CHED said that autonomous universities like SPU Philippines are authorized to accept foreign students.

"This authority given to selected universities to enroll foreign students is the reason why there is a significant number of students from India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Thailand, Nepal, Korea, and other countries in Philippine schools," it also said.

"The foreign students are attracted by the affordable cost of quality education, the use of English as a medium of instruction, and the globally recognized quality of instruction in such fields as medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, public health, and engineering."

NSC TO MONITOR NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS

The National Security Council (NSC) has sent intelligence officials to Cagayan to monitor if there are national security threats in the area, NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said in an earlier interview.

 “Our intelligence units have been assigned to take a look at the situation there. Is this a case of a national security threat or is this just a case of people wanting to study in the Philippines?” he said.

The Bureau of Immigration earlier said that some 1,500 Chinese nationals received student visas in 2023 after endorsements from a legitimate university in Cagayan.

READ: PH intelligence officials probing alleged influx of Chinese students in Cagayan

These Chinese nationals were “legally processed” and had “complete documentation,” the agency said.

The local government has reached out to the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and “there are no findings” that these students pose threats, the Tuguegarao mayor said.

 “We denounce what happened in the West Philippine Sea… But let us also remain calm and be very careful of our pronouncements on social media especially… may ibang tao na nauudyukan, pag nagalit, nakakagawa ng masama (there are some people there who might commit heinous crimes once they are pushed or once they are angered),” she said.

“Don’t sensationalize it. Don’t start war mongering or fear mongering because it’s not doing us [any] good.”