MANILA — The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday said it is planning additional measures to prevent the illegal entry and overstaying of Chinese nationals in the country.

In a press conference, DFA Undersecretary Jesus “Gary” Domingo said the agency is crafting a stricter visa policy that would require applicants to submit a social insurance certificate, on top of other necessary documents, with the goal of weeding out possible troublemakers from legitimate tourists and travelers.

This comes amid a growing of instances where visa applicants from China would submit fraudulent documents, which the DFA said have been denied.

“A major challenge is the submission of fraudulent, fake documents, particularly from the China side, especially IDs, bank statements and certificates of employment. Fixers brazenly advertise such things on WeChat,” said Domingo.

“To remedy this, we’re actually looking at a best practice used by other foreign embassies in China such as Japan, South Korea, US, and UK. They also require applicants to submit a social insurance certificate, parang SSS (Social Security System) natin or GSIS (Government Service Insurance System),” he added.

For group visa applications, the DFA said it will be more vigilant in checking if the travel firms or tour operators that are bringing in Chinese nationals are properly accredited.

Aside from the submission of fake documents, Domingo said there have also been cases of attempted bribery of Philippine consular staff through supposed agents or interpreters. 

The DFA will also be restricting the employment of such agents who can intercede for applicants.

Meawhile, Domingo admitted that the stricter measures may result in a dip in foreign tourist arrivals. But he stressed the need for a balance between the economics of it all and national security concerns.

“Given the headline discovery of fraudulently obtained passports and visas resulting in the illicit entry and overstaying of numerous foreign nationals, leading to peace and order and criminality problems with the abuse of the POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) system, terrible instances of human trafficking, murder, kidnapping and other heinous crimes, the DFA is hard at work ensuring that we plug the gaps and shortcomings in our systems,” he said.

But in the long run, Domingo said these adjustments could even boost the confidence of more Chinese nationals to come to the Philippines.

“Itong mga POGO na nakalusot, who are their main victims? Fellow Chinese. (So) they will be more confident that there will be less instance of unsavory people coming in to commit heinous crimes,” he explained.

ISSUANCE OF STUDENT VISAS TO CHINESE NATIONALS

This development also comes amid concerns about the influx of Chinese students in Cagayan Province, which some officials have described as alarming.

But the DFA clarified that they got their student visas through the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

“There are two ways to get your student visa. One is to apply when you’re overseas. That’s a lengthy process. The popular way is come in on a tourist visa and have it converted by the BI when you get here. Although, yes, this is a troubling matter, but again, since this happens domestically, it’s really our domestic-based agencies, the BI, other law enforcement agencies looking into the situation in Cagayan,” said Domingo.