Look into retirement visas of 30K Chinese, House urged

REP. Erwin Tulfo (PL, ACT-CIS) yesterday filed a resolution urging the House of Representatives to investigate the issuance of retiree and investor visas to least 30,000 Chinese citizens aged 35 to 50, some of which have turned out to be Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) workers.

Tulfo filed House Resolution 1771 to allow the House to invite and grill officials of the Philippine Retirement Association (PRA), Board of Investments (BOI), and even the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) over what he called was the “alarming” grant of visas to Chinese nationals by the PRA.

The lawmaker said that based on PRA data, at least 79,000 foreign retirees in the Philippines and more than 30,000 Chinese “retirees” were allowed to permanently reside in the country.

“What is also alarming is that the PRA has been accepting retirees who are at least 35 years old since 1991. The age requirement was only raised to 50 years old in April 2021,” he told reporters.

The neophyte lawmaker said he smells something fishy with the information that there are foreigners with investors’ visas who have no millions of investments in the country and “they are just employees of POGOs.”

National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) director Ricardo de Leon has said NICA is already looking into the possibility that POGOs could be China’s “Trojan horse” that could be used to launch a surprise attack on the country.

Tulfo said the influx of Chinese nationals “has raised concerns regarding the socio-economic impact, including but not limited to labor market dynamics, national security, and public order.”

“The Speaker (Martin Romualdez) gave us instructions to look into this. Imagine, a retiree is at least 50, 60 plus. But 35, 40? You are at the peak of your strength. Why will you retire,” Tulfo said. “We should probe this so we can deport whom we need to deport. Otherwise, that is a problem for us.”

A Special Resident Retiree’s Visa (SRRV) and Special Investor’s Resident Visa (SIRV) provide special privileges to foreigners, including indefinite stay in the country for employment, investment, and retirement.

“While intended for legitimate purposes for the economic development of the