Monitoring Chinese influx: PH visa to be stamped on passports

President Duterte has approved the stamping of the Philippine visa directly on the passports of Chinese who want to visit the country, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Mr. Duterte approved the change as proposed by Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. during a Cabinet meeting in the Palace on Monday night.

Currently, visas are issued to Chinese on a separate form, a practice introduced by the administration of President Benigno Aquino III in December 2012 to avoid giving the impression that the Philippines recognizes China’s claim to parts of Philippine territory in the South China Sea.

‘Nine-dash line’

The China passport bears a map of China with the “nine-dash line”—nine dashes encompassing more than 80 percent of the South China Sea, including swaths of the West Philippine Sea, waters within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the heavily disputed waterway.

Panelo said the design of the new Philippine visa was an assertion of the country’s sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea. “It has … the map of the Philippines, including all of our territory there,” he said in a statement.

The new visa design may be used for other passports, Panelo said.

In a post in his Twitter account, Locsin said the new visa stamp would show the entire Philippine EEZ in the South China Sea.

Tracking Chinese visitors

“The stamp has the map of the entire Philippine EEZ to its widest extent, including Benham Rise along with other territorial claims. So tit for tat,” Locsin said.

He added that the new visa would allow the government to monitor Chinese entering the Philippines.

“We will be able to keep track of Chinese nationals entering via visa from our consulates in China or visas upon arrival after a shorter vetting period, hitherto stamped on slips of paper no one could keep track of. Now visas stamped on permanent Chinese passports—so we know all,” Locsin said.

Earlier, Locsin proposed doing away with issuing visas to Chinese upon their arrival in the Philippines because of concerns over the influx of Chinese migrant workers into the country.

The current policy allows Chinese to stay in the country up to a month, which may be extended to six months.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, during the Cabinet meeting, committed to strict monitoring of Chinese tourists’ stay in the country and enforcement of immigration measures should they overstay, Panelo said.

Pogo workers

The Bureau of Immigration, an agency overseen by the Department of Justice, has recorded more than 3 million Chinese tourists visiting the Philippines in the past three years.

Around 130,000 Chinese are registered as workers at Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), which mainly cater to online gamblers in China.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue has issued taxpayer identification numbers to those workers and is now collecting taxes from them, in a collective effort that included help from the immigration bureau, justice department, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency and the Department of Labor and Employment.

The Department of Finance has estimated a monthly revenue collection of P2 billion from Pogo workers.