NSC probes reported influx of Chinese students in Tuguegarao City

MANILA, Philippines — The National Security Council (NSC) is currently investigating the reported influx of Chinese students in Tuguegarao City, according to NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya on Saturday.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva had earlier urged the NSC to look into the alleged sudden increase in the number of Chinese students in schools and universities in the city, raising concerns about national security.

READ: Why influx of Sino students in Cagayan Valley? Solons ask

“We have already taken a look at it. Our intelligence units have been assigned to look at the situation there to determine if this is actually a national security threat, or is it just a case of students who want to go to the Philippines to study,” Malaya said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

READ: BI: 1,516 Chinese nat’ls given student visas in Cagayan in 2023

Representatives Joseph Lara of Cagayan’s third district and Faustino “Inno” Dy of Isabela’s sixth district have earlier filed separate resolutions calling for a probe into the matter.

They fear possible threats to national security and the economy.

Lara noted that he had received reports from his constituents that there are 4,600 Chinese students in one private university alone in the province.

In a statement released Friday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) disclosed that only 1,516 Chinese nationals, all endorsed by a major Philippine university, were issued student visas in Cagayan in 2023.

“However, reports received only show more than 400 Chinese nationals are on-site, as the school is said to be implementing distance learning,” the BI noted.

But this number is far from the 20 Chinese nationals issued student visas in 2022 in the province.

The bureau noted that this was when the travel ban was not fully lifted.

Also, in a joint statement released Friday, the Medical Colleges of the Northern Philippines, the University of Cagayan Valley, the University of Saint Louis Tuguegarao, and Saint Paul University Philippines called the allegations “baseless” and considered them “deeply offensive.”

“The insinuation that the presence of Chinese students in the City’s Universities poses a threat to national security is not only baseless but also deeply offensive,” they said.

“It is a blatant display of racism and Sinophobia that has no place in our society, especially within the realm of education,” they added.