MANILA, Philippines?Foreigners who employ at least 10 Filipinos can stay in the country indefinitely.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Monday signed the new rules for foreigners in hopes of providing more jobs for Filipinos in anticipation of an economic slowdown next year.

With the new ?special visa for employment generation? (SVEG), qualified nonimmigrant foreigners will be extended ?multiple entry privileges and conditional extended stay without need of prior departure from the Philippines,? according to Executive Order No. 758.

This is the first time the visa has been issued.

The privilege will also cover a qualified foreigner?s spouse and unmarried children?legitimate, illegitimate or adopted?below 18 years old.

Incentive

Trade Secretary Peter Favila said the new policy was meant as an incentive to encourage more ?legitimate investors to come on board.?

Official figures show that direct foreign investment accounts for about 15 percent of the country?s gross domestic product (GDP), while comparable regional economies attract 20 percent or higher.

?We envision that if we make it easy for foreign investors to acquire a visa that allows them to indefinitely stay in the country, we encourage them to infuse their capital into the country and, thus, provide jobs for Filipinos,? said Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan.

But Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez made it clear that the government was also wary of the security implications of the EO, particularly on the possibility that terrorists could take advantage of it.

Not including terrorists

?We will coordinate with all the intelligence agencies,? Gonzalez told reporters after Ms Arroyo signed the EO in Malacañang Monday. ?We are also a gateway to terrorism. You cannot just extend visas to people whose backgrounds may not be desirable.?

Section 2 of the EO prescribes that the SVEG will be made available only to nonimmigrant foreigners who are ?not a risk to national security.?

Genuine intention

Applicants are also required to ?actually, directly or exclusively engage in a viable and sustainable commercial investment/enterprise? in the country to go with a ?genuine intention to indefinitely remain in the Philippines.?

The immigration bureau, however, has not made it clear if foreigners can keep such a visa even after their businesses no longer employ Filipinos.

Most other visitors are allowed to stay at least 21 days, depending on their nationality. Most visas can be extended for up to a year.

Job creation

In the EO, Ms Arroyo noted that 2.9 million Filipinos were unemployed as of April this year, a discouraging figure considering the prospect of an economic slowdown?or even recession?by next year.

Apart from the new visa privilege, Malacañang is implementing emergency employment and livelihood opportunities across the country, apparently to help cushion the effects of possible layoffs.

Libanan sought to douse fears that the SVEG would legitimize the status of foreigners illegally staying and even doing business in the country.

?They are not covered,? he told reporters, noting that the bureau would coordinate in the matter with other agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Labor and Employment. With an AP report