Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay on Sunday, April 7 renewed her call on the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) to strictly scrutinize applications as immigration officials reported of an alleged "Chinese mafia” using passports with special resident retiree visas (SRRV).
Binay made the call a week after the Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that it has arrested four Chinese nationals suspected to be behind the increasing number of fraudulently-acquired government-issued IDs and documents including genuine Philippine passports with questionable SRRVs.
The senator noted that the issuance and renewal of SRRVs have long been exploited, and fears that some Chinese syndicates have likely connived, maintained ties and established networks within the government bureaucracy.
"Nakakabahala talaga (It is very concerning) since these foreign nationals enter and exit the country using valid documents that we know were obtained through illicit ways,” Binay said in a statement.
“We expect NICA to help assess the scale of fraud perpetrated by these syndicates, and check the addresses and contact numbers provided in their 'valid' documents,” she stressed.
“Visa fraud and fake identities adversely impact national security. What's largely alarming is the PRA policy of allowing Chinese SRRV applicants who are 35 years old, which can be categorized as 'soldier's age’,” she pointed out.
“Dapat merong (There should be) security measures at dapat higpitan ang vetting process ng mga applications regardless of nationality (and the vetting process on applications should be tightened regardless of nationality),” Binay added.
It can be recalled that last year, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested a high-ranking PRA official for issuing unwarranted SRRV cards to foreigners.
The BI also discovered several cases of foreign nationals pretending to be Filipinos by using different Philippine documents, and genuine immigration stamps.
“Nakailang beses na po nating binabanggit ang tungkol sa mga (We have repeatedly mentioned about) POGO workers who reportedly happen to be SRRV holders. Pero ang mas nakakaalarma ay itong naarestong apat na Chinese nationals na naka-retirees visa sa Pilipinas (But the most alarming is the arrest of these four Chinese nationals that were able to obtain retiree visas in the Philippines),” Binay pointed out.
Based on PRA records, there are about 78,000 foreign retirees in the Philippines, and about 30,000 Chinese "retirees" have been allowed to permanently reside in the country.
The lawmaker warned the growing number of interceptions of Chinese nationals presenting authentic government-issued Philippine documents identifying them as Filipino traders or retirees has now become a national security concern.
“Ano ba ang monitoring mechanism ng (What are the monitoring mechanism of the) PRA to check if these 'retirees' together with those who pose as 'investor-class immigrants' are really legit (legitimate)?” she asked.
Binay reiterated a whole-of-government response is necessary to identify syndicates issuing fraudulently acquired government IDs including visas and passports.
The senator further urged the government to provide stiffer penalties against foreign nationals conducting illegal activities in the Philippines.