PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. should scrap an executive order (EO) allowing the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to convert tourist visas into student visas, a congressman said Monday.

Executive Order No. 285 (EO 285) by former President Joseph E. Estrada allowed the conversion of tourist visas into student visas for foreigners seeking to take up higher education in the country, a move seen as promoting the Philippines as a center for education in Southeast Asia.

“In today’s setting, this particular power by the BI can be abused,” Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers said in a statement. “This arbitrary power to convert visas is the worst legalized scheme that can be used by unscrupulous personnel for monetary gain.”

The statement was issued amid concerns over the influx of Chinese students in Cagayan province in northern Philippines. Congressmen earlier raised alarms over the arrival of these students, citing that some of them could be spies.

There are two new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Arrangement (EDCA) sites in Cagayan province: Naval Base Camilo Osias in Santa Ana municipality and Cagayan North International Airport in Lal-lo municipality.

A total of 1,516 Chinese nationals in Cagayan had been provided with student visas, Immigration Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco said on Sunday. More than 400 Chinese students are enrolled in schools in the province, with only 96 Chinese nationals physically attending classes.

The BI issued 16,190 student visas to Chinese nationals in the country, he added, with the majority of them enrolled in the National Capital Region.

“The 16,200 student visas that the BI granted to Chinese nationals in 2023 is simply unacceptable,” Mr. Barbers said. “Never mind if other countries grant more, we should never use that as our yardstick given our tense relationship with China,” Barbers said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs should be the sole agency granting visas to foreigners, he added. “(The department) alone possess the expertise to determine whether the applications are eligible or not.” — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

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