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THE
Bureau of Immigration (BI) has called upon the
Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of
Tourism about changes in existing regulations of the
Immigration to conform with the changing times and to
encourage more foreign investors and tourists to come
into the country.
Immigration commissioner Marcelino Libanan explained
that he issued a Memorandum Circular MCL-07-001
prescribing the “guidelines for the issuance of
Proinvestment Visa Upon Arrival to certain individuals
and under special circumstances.”
“Pursuant to the rule-making power of the Commissioner
of Immigration, there is hereby established a
Proinvestment Visa Program aimed at attracting foreign
investments and sustaining investor’s confidence in the
country,” Libanan said.
Libanan
said the scope of the Investment Visa Program would be
available to “foreign investors and businessmen duly
endorsed by the Board of Investments (BOI), Philippine
Retirement Authority (PRA), Philippine Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (PCCI), local business councils,
or local as well as foreign chambers of commerce and
industry; athletes and delegates to sports competitions;
delegates and participants to, resource speakers in,
organizers of international conventions; such other
foreigners who, in the discretion of the Commissioner,
may be entitled to the benefits under this program.”
There
would be a Special Investment Projects which would be
given to foreign investors and their executives in
investments that are endorsed by the government, or
those resulting from bilateral agreements as well as
those in response to presidential invitations for
investments during Presidential trips abroad, Libanan
said.
On
August 16, 2007, Libanan then issued Memorandum Order
No. 07-015 that provides the implementing rules and
regulation for Memorandum Circular 07-001.
Under
this five-page circular, included are the officials of
World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and other
international development partners, including their
dependent spouse and unmarried minor children.
The only
requirements for the issuance of visa are the payment of
visa fee in the amount of $25, legal research fee of
P10 and other applicable fees at the point of entry.
For
multinational corporations, Libanan said, that visas
issued under section 7 of MCL 07-001 would entitle the
holder to multiple entry privileges and valid for an
initial period of three months from the date of
admission to the country.
“Visas
issued under the same section may be extended through a
series of extensions of six months validity per
extension, provided that the total aggregate length of
time should not exceed a period of three years,
inclusive of the initial period of three months,”
Libanan said.
He said
those who are entitled to avail themselves are senior
officials of multinational corporations with operations
in the Philippines as certified to, and endorsed by the
Trade Department-Board of Investments.
“Except
for the period, extensions under this type of visa shall
be governed by the same requirements and procedures as
well as payment of fees for extension of visas issued
under Section 9 (a) of Commonwealth Act 613,” Libanan
said.
At
present, there is an old law existing in the DFA that
imposes restrictions to other foreign nationals to
travel to the Philippines.
Lawyer
Norman Tansingco, BI’s chief of staff, said the circular
was issued in response to the demands of “present time.”
“That
law in the DFA is vintage. That imposes restrictions to
certain nationals. Time has changed already,” Tansingco
said.
He cited
China, a communist country, but now, it is one of the
top business investor of the Philippines.
He said
that rules and regulations of the immigration must
conform to the needs of the visiting foreigners.
“There
is an old rule in the Foreign Affairs department that
still exists. This rule imposes restrictions to other
foreign nationals. This is the sad thing,” Tansingco
said.
Tansingco said the BI has opted to issue the circular so
that investors may come in to the country anytime,
provided they just have to follow the circular.
“This is
the easy way. This legal and proinvestors which the
country needs,” Tansingco said.
He said
those foreigners who intend to travel to the Philippines
should only have to inform the immigration office in
Manila,
through their travel agents, or the airlines ticketing
office, to have a travel clearance.
“It is
the airlines that would be penalized once they allowed
to travel a foreigner who has incomplete travel
documents or clearance from Immigration,” Tansingco
said.
An
administrative fine of P50,000 is imposed to an
international airline who boarded an undocumented alien
to the Philippines.
Tansingco said there is an uncollected amount of P24
million from the different international airlines as
administrative fines.
“This is
what we learned here. Now, we have to collect it. So
far, airlines have paid at least P8 million to the
government,” Tansingco said.
Tourism
Secretary Ace Durano also complained of the vintage law
in the DFA imposing restrictions to foreign nationals.
He said
the DFA should study its policies in the
Middle East as there are Arab nationals who may be desirous to
invest to the
Philippines,
particularly on the island of Mindanao. |
