Barbers calls for repeal of EO allowing conversion of tourist to student visa

Barbers said that Executive Order No. 285 crafted during the term of former president Joseph Estrada has been abused in the current settings, amid reports that over 16,000 student visas were issued by the Bureau of Immigration to Chinese individuals. | INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers has urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to repeal an executive order that allows the conversion of tourist visas to student visas, out of fears that it may be abused by some individuals.

In a statement on Monday, Barbers said that Executive Order (EO) No. 285 crafted during the term of former president Joseph Estrada has been abused in the current settings, amid reports that over 16,000 student visas were issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to Chinese individuals.

READ: China embassy: Issue vs Sino students reeks of ‘McCarthyism’ 

Under EO No. 285, the BI is allowed to grant the conversion of tourist visas into student visas as the policy of the government then was to “promote the Philippines as a center for education in the Asia Pacific Region by encouraging foreign students to study in the country”.

“In today’s setting, this particular power by the BI can be abused. This arbitrary power to convert visas is the worst legalized scheme that can be used by unscrupulous personnel for monetary gain,” Barbers said.

“The 16,200 student visas that the BI granted to Chinese nationals in 2023 is simply unacceptable. Nevermind if other countries grant more, we should never use that as our yardstick given our tense relationship with China,” he added.

According to Barbers, that power should be reserved to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which has a better perspective on whether applicants — foreigners asking that their tourist visas be changed into student visas — are qualified.

“The DFA should be the sole agency in charge of granting visas to foreigners. It alone possesses the expertise to determine whether the applicants are eligible or not,” he said.

READ: Barbers: No racism in probing influx of Chinese students in Cagayan

Earlier, it was reported that nearly 16,200 Chinese nationals who entered the Philippines as tourists were granted student visas by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) just in 2023. This has prompted the Inter-Agency Committee on Foreign Students (IACFS) to convene on Monday to address the “rise in the number of Chinese students” in the country.

Several lawmakers from the House of Representatives and the Senate, like Barbers, have sounded alarm on the increasing number of Chinese students in the country, allegedly in sensitive areas where military bases are situated.

The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines has accused Filipino politicians who are linking the influx of Chinese students in Cagayan province to the West Philippine Sea dispute of “inciting suspicion and hatred of China”, but lawmakers have maintained that a probe on the issue is not racism but a necessity to know the country’s state of affairs.

Last April 30, Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez accused China of trying to interfere with Philippine politics when it criticized a House lawmaker for seeking a probe into the issue.