Foreigner arrivals up in '09 despite global recession – govt

The number of foreigners who visited the Philippines in 2009 still went up despite the global economic recession, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI). In a year-end report to Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan, BI immigration regulation chief Edgardo Mendoza disclosed that a total of 5,965,078 foreigners arrived in the country from January to December, slightly higher than the 5,927,128 who came in 2008. Mendoza said tourists, totaling to more than two million, accounted for the bulk of the foreign visitors. Most of them were balikbayans, whose numbers reached nearly 700,000. This was closely followed by Americans, numbering almost 680,000, then next, surprisingly, by Koreans at 523,000. The non-balikbayan foreigners were holders of various types of immigrant and non-immigrant visas that were issued to them either by the BI or the Philippine consulates abroad. Upon receiving the report, Libanan said he was pleased that foreigners did not shy away from the country even in the face of the global recession. He said the BI will continue to do its part in helping the government attract more foreign visitors by liberalizing its immigration rules, policies and procedures to make it easier for foreigners to stay or do business in the Philippines. Hopes for new immigration law The BI chief added that he hopes Congress will finally pass a new immigration law for the country that will replace the 1940 Immigration Act which he described as "antiquated and no longer attuned to present realities." Pending before the both chambers of Congress are House Bill 6568 and Senate Bill 3404 entitled the Philippine Immigration Act of 2009, which the BI believes will bring about an influx of more foreign visitors and investors in the country. Also, among the programs that the BI launched to lure foreign businessmen is the special visa for employment generation (SVEG) or job visa. The said visa entitles the holder to stay indefinitely in the Philippines provided that he maintains investment in a business enterprise that employs 10 or more Filipino workers. According to the agency, the BI issued special visas to over 400 foreign businessmen and their dependents last year, which generated over 30,000 new jobs and about P5 million in fees collected by the government. Statistics also showed that Americans, numbering 679,312, topped the list of the foreigners who arrived last year, followed by 523,145 Koreans, 331,279 Japanese, 225,577 Chinese, 140,098 Australians, and 126,001 Britons. – Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV