Senator Nancy Binay on Tuesday referred to as on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to require private appearances at consular places of work as a “non-negotiable requirement” for sure classes making use of for a Philippine e-visa.
While the chairperson of the Senate Tourism Committee welcomed the pilot implementation of the nation’s first-ever digital visa on August 24, Binay urged the DFA to supply higher safety insurance policies “to avoid being circumvented by non-technical loopholes and to lessen the probability of organized syndicates exploiting tour groups and junkets.”
“We welcome the implementation of e-visas not solely to positively increase tourism, but in addition as our dedication to facilitate ease of journey. In the identical vein, we urge the DFA and NICA to refine nationwide safety insurance policies to discourage undesirable vacationers from extra-legally bypassing immigration legal guidelines,” Binay, who can be a member of the Senate Committees on National Defense and Foreign Relations, stated.
“We all know that many foreigners are going to the Philippines for other purposes. We should review the system and exemptions further to avoid any misuse and abuse by some foreign nationals,” she stated in combined English and Filipino.
Binay identified that each visa resolution has an implication on nationwide safety, including that vetting on transnational organized crime-related grounds and in depth safety screening needs to be the prime issues in approving visa purposes.
“Certain parameters on security should be in place and apply a multi-layered safety plug plus a face-to-face interview to a narrow category of travelers para talagang salang-sala ang mga pumapasok sa bansa (so that we can make sure that all persons who enter the country are properly evaluated),” Binay said.
“Gaano ba kasigurado tayo na ang nabibigyan natin ng e-visa eh talagang mga lehitimong turista (How sure are we that every person issuef an e-visa is a legitimate tourist)? As a matter of national interest, I share the DFA’s position to require face-to-face interviews with tourist visa applicants whose profiles fall in marked categories,” Binay said.
The lawmaker also said the Bureau of Immigration should have a system to check on foreign nationals overstaying in the country.
Considering that the Philippines is the only ASEAN country with a Tier 1 status under the US State Department’s annual human trafficking report, Binay said the DFA cannot turn a blind eye on reports of Chinese workers trafficked to the country.
“Lalo pa ngayong unti-unti nang nanunumbalik ang turismo–we also cannot ignore that China is a big market. I share the opinion that we have to take advantage of the global ‘revenge tourism’ phenomenon, but targeting visitor quotas need not dilute national security interests,” she stated.
“Safety nets in homeland security should be in place. Visa applicants must demonstrate their eligibility for an e-visa be it for tourism, business or emergency purposes. The policy must apply to all foreign nationals, and we always have to be on the side of caution and prudence,” she concluded.
The Philippine e-Visa system will permit overseas nationals getting into the nation to use for momentary customer passes on-line by means of their digital units.
The e-Visa system might be comfortable launched on August 24. — DVM, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
