FVR blames BI for PHL-Taiwan deportation row

Calling the Bureau of Immigration (BI) “irresponsible" for deporting 14 Taiwanese nationals to mainland China, former President Fidel V. Ramos on Thursday blamed the agency for the dent in the relations between the Philippines and Taiwan. Ramos said BI officials failed to implement due process when it pushed through with the deportation even after the Court of Appeals had issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the matter. He said the court issued the TRO after Ambassador Amadeo Perez, chair of the board of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, testified that the MECO issued travel visas to the 14 deportees. The former president said, “[The BI] committed the mistake. Therefore, they are responsible for starting this chain of events. They were very irresponsible for not respecting the TRO." Ramos noted that the Philippines considers Taiwan its sixth largest trading partner in the world — its fifth largest source of tourists. He also cited the contributions of 80,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan who remit approximately $1 billion annually. OFWs are now starting to feel the brunt of Taiwan for the deportation row in the form of a prolonged visa application process, among other things. President Benigno Aquino III last week stressed that the government made the right move in deporting the 14 Taiwanese nationals to China. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago agreed with the Palace position, noting consistency with the One China policy. “Our policy is that there is only one China, and that Taiwan is only a province of China," Santiago in a statement said. “We are simply being consistent with a policy we have announced long ago. There is no need to repeat the whole thing over and over," the senator added. Ramos, however, called on the government to cease implementing a hard-line stance against Taiwan. “There’s no need for hard-lining here because we are a cluster of brothers and neighbors," he said. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," Ramos added. — Paterno Esmaquel II/VS, GMA News