Mareng Winnie denied US visa

A broadcaster on the United States’ high-risk list?

Well, that is true of economist and television debate show host Solita "Winnie" Monsod, whose request for visa renewal has been "temporarily refused" by the US Embassy.

The reason given by the embassy: Monsod was included in the US State Department list of "high-risk" individuals.

The US Embassy refused to comment on the matter, saying individual visa applications were treated confidentially.

Monsod said the US Embassy did not explain why she was in the State Department list. She theorized that her past as an activist and her "high-risk" activities during martial law were considered in light of the US government’s stricter security measures following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the American cities of Washington and New York.

Monsod, known as Mareng Winnie to those glued to the weekly Debate show she co-hosts with former Pangasinan governor Oscar Orbos on GMA-7, said she had to go through the fingerprinting process at the US Embassy and her fingerprints were forwarded to Washington for verification.

She said the US may have a dossier on her because former US President Ronald Reagan was friendly with the Marcos family prior to the 1986 EDSA Revolution that ousted then President Ferdinand Marcos.

Monsod’s 10-year multiple entry visa to the US expired recently, but she said she has been entering and exiting the US for the past 40 years.