MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros called on the Bureau of Immigration to suspend the visa upon arrival scheme for Chinese nationals, citing reports from the national police suggesting that the VUA scheme boosted kidnappings related to Chinese casino players and workers of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators industry.
Earlier in January, the justice department opted to shorten the validity of the VUAs to only 30 days. Later in September, it ordered more than 2,700 Chinese nationals who violated conditions of their visa to leave the Philippines. However, the VUA scheme remained in place.
In a statement issued Sunday afternoon, Hontiveros cited data from the PNP-Anti-Kidnapping Group which recorded 24 kidnapping incidents in 2017 and 2018, 35 in 2019, and two in 2020.
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“The crime that POGOs bring to the country is endless. We've already proven at the Senate that many Chinese POGO workers are the customers of prostituted and trafficked women, and now, the PNP also confirmed that cases of kidnapping are POGO-related. This is all no thanks to the VUA scheme,” the senator said in mixed Filipino and English.
PNP data also showed that there was no casino-related kidnapping in 2016, a year before the VUA system started, Hontiveros said in her statement. Out of these incidents, PNP-AKG said that it has arrested 34 suspects of POGO-related kidnapping last year, and 31 this year.
POGOs figured in a number of controversies in the months leading up to the coronavirus pandemic, ranging from links to sex trafficking, immigration bribery, identity theft, money laundering, kidnapping and prostitution.
However, the gaming operators largely remained open despite the community quarantines hoisted over most of the country, albeit at vastly decreased rates due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The BI began the VUA scheme in 2017 after former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II issued Department Order No. 41, which allowed Chinese citizens to enter the Philippines without having previously obtained a visa from the foreign affairs department.
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Hontiveros earlier in September urged the National Bureau of Investigation to file charges against the perpetrators of the BI's "pastillas" scheme, which she linked to the rise of prostitution in the country.
“The VUA scheme is a dubious project. Our investigations already revealed that corrupt BI officials involved in the pastillas scam have also profited from the VUA system. They pocketed nearly P2-billion kickbacks. Whatever we turn to VUA, it is clear that it only brings persecution to our country,” Hontiveros said.
“It will be safer for everyone, Chinese and Filipinos, if all Chinese visitors entering the country apply for visas through channels monitored by the DFA. Suspended pa lang ang VUA ngayon dahil sa COVID-19, pero dapat na itong i-terminate. Air travel may soon continue, but I strongly suggest that VUA does not,” she added.
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— Franco Luna with reports from Bella Perez-Rubio and Kristine Joy Patag