MANILA, Philippines — Senator Nancy Binay on Wednesday called on the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) to review its policies that allow foreigners as young as 35 years old to retire in the country.
According to Binay, the PRA should revisit its existing policies to “lessen the probability of foreign nationals exploiting the special resident retiree visas (SRRV) to stay in the Philippines.”
“It’s high time to review the policy na 35 years old ka lang ay puwede ka na mag-retire dito sa Pilipinas kasi ang kailangan lang po ng magre-retire ay either mag-deposit siya ng US$50,000 sa bangko, or bumili ng condo unit worth P2.5 million at puwede nang mag-retire dito,” the senator said in a statement.
(It’s high time to review the policy that at 35 years old, foreigners can already retire in the Philippines, they are only required to either deposit US$50,000 to a bank here or buy a condo unit worth P2.5 million.)
(FILE) Sen. Nancy Binay. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)
Binay issued the call after senators were alarmed upon learning in an earlier Senate hearing that foreigners aged 35 years old are already eligible for the SRRV.
READ: Gordon furious: What? Gov’t allows 35-yr-old Chinese to stay in PH as retirees?
It was also revealed in the hearing that foreign retirees in the country are composed of mostly Chinese nationals.
Binay raised concern over this and criticized the seemingly relaxed national security policy on allowing Chinese “retirees” who are 35 years old, saying this age falls in the bracket of the so-called “soldier’s age.”
“Siguro dapat dagdagan din ang security measure at baka dapat higpitan ang vetting process ng mga tatanggapin natin regardless of nationality,” Binay added.
(I think we should also add security measures and tighten the vetting process of accepting foreign retirees regardless of nationality.)
She noted that foreigners could exploit this to work in the country without going through the proper channels.
“Alam naman natin at 35 years old malakas pa po ang katawan niyan. Lalong-lalo po mayroon tayong problema ngayon na kung saan may issue tayo na apparently ang mga kababayan natin ay nagkakaroon ng job displacement pagdating dito sa pagpasok ng mga Chinese nationals sa ating bansa,” Binay said.
(We know that at the age of 35 years old, a person’s body is still strong. Especially now that we have an issue that there is apparently job displacement among our fellow Filipinos when Chinese nationals come in.)
“Puwede (ang mga ‘yan ay) nagtatrabaho sa POGO (Philippine offshore gaming operator), or puwede din po baka nandiyan sila sa Divisoria. Kaya nga po magandang tingnan at pag-aralan kasi baka kumbaga ginagamit nila itong paraan to circumvent the law na hindi sila puwedeng mag-trabaho dito,” she added.
(They could possibly be working for Pogos or in Divisoria. That’s why it would be good to look into and study the policies because these could be used by foreigners to circumvent the law if they are not allowed to work here.)
According to PRA figures, foreign retirees in the Philippines now stand at 70,520. Of which, it added, nearly 28,000 or 40 percent are Chinese.
Korean retirees follow at roughly 14,000, and then Indians at about 6,000, PRA’s data have shown.