Uptick in Chinese arrivals in PH ‘just a trend’: BI

“The Chinese tourism boom has brought a lot of Chinese tourists to our shores, the same can be said for other countries with popular tourist destinations,” he said in a statement. (File Photo: Bureau of Immigration, Republic of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA — Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente said on Friday the increase in arrivals of foreigners, particularly Chinese nationals, was “just a trend” due to external factors.

“The Chinese tourism boom has brought a lot of Chinese tourists to our shores, the same can be said for other countries with popular tourist destinations,” he said in a statement.

“They are everywhere, and this huge tourism market is what the Department of Tourism (DOT) wanted to tap,” the BI chief added.

He noted that the rise of Chinese workers in the Philippines is due to emerging industries like the online gaming industry.

“We’ve seen this before when there was a sudden spike in Koreans in the Philippines during the boom of the English language institutions,” Morente added.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon earlier said he saw the rise in the number of arriving Chinese nationals as a security concern.

Meanwhile, Morente assured that the issuance of visa upon arrival (VUA) to foreigners undergoes thorough assessment and scrutiny.

“BI has a careful assessment process for incoming Chinese nationals subject of VUA,” Morente said, noting the VUA program was implemented by the BI following a 2017 circular from the Department of Justice (DOJ) ordering the grant of VUA to Chinese nationals.

Under the program, only visitors endorsed by a DOT-accredited travel agency may apply. Names are pre-checked for derogatory records, and they may still be excluded if found to have a doubtful purpose of travel.

“Upon issuance of the VUA, they get 30 days (stay). They still undergo normal primary inspection at our ports. In fact, as of date, no VUA recipient was apprehended for any immigration violation, as most of these are legitimate tourist, usually in big tour groups,” Morente said.

They cannot use it to work here as the VUA may not be converted to another visa type,” he added.

BI data shows that in June, the number of VUA recipients is at around 6,000.

“This is only about 5 percent of all the Chinese nationals coming here,” he added.

BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval reported that more than 500 illegal aliens were arrested in the first half of 2019. The figure is almost double the arrests from the previous year.

She added that immigration officers at the airports have also turned back 2,351 from January to June, “mostly for having a doubtful purpose of travel”.

“The rise in numbers of foreign nationals in the Philippines really comes with global and economic trends,” Sandoval said.

“Majority come here for legitimate purposes, what we’re after are those ‘riders’ who try to join the bandwagon and come here to work illegally,” she added.

She said documented and law-abiding foreigners are welcome in the country.

“Aliens with legitimate reasons in going to the country have nothing to worry about. But the illegal ones should comply with our laws now, lest face arrest and deportation,” she said.