‘Governmen’t fine-tuning e-visa system’

MANILA, Philippines — The government is fine-tuning the implementation of an electronic visa system for foreign travelers, President Marcos said.

The Chief Executive made the remark when asked by Indian Ambassador Shambhu Kumaran during their meeting at Malacañang last week to allow the extension of e-visas for Indians in the Philippines.

He told the envoy that the new e-visa system would be issued to foreigners who will be staying in the country.

“We will find a way to do it. But we are doing it (extending the e-visa),” Marcos said. “It won’t be just India, we are doing it with…several other countries as well to keep it. Again, we will just apply the same principles that we did with others – to India. But that is something that’s easy for us.”

“That’s going to be a good beginning of a good exchange between our two countries,” the President added. India and the Philippines will mark their 75th year of diplomatic relations next year.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced the planned e-Visa system for foreign nationals in July. It aims to make the visa application process easier and faster for foreign nationals who visit the Philippines for leisure or business.

The e-Visa system, which is being developed by the DFA and the Department of Information and Communications Technology, was to be launched in the third quarter of this year.

“This will make the visa application process easier, faster, more efficient, and convenient for foreign nationals who wish to visit the Philippines for leisure and business purposes,” DFA Undersecretary Jesus Domingo said at a press conference in July.