Palace welcomes Taiwan's easing of restrictions on OFWs

Malacañang on Thursday welcomed the decision of the Taiwanese government to relax the restrictions it imposed on overseas Filipino workers stemming from a deportation row last month. "Certainly, we welcome the decision of the Taiwan government to relax their restrictions on our OFWs," presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters. Lacierda said the Taiwanese officials also invited former Senator Manuel Roxas II to return to Taiwan for further discussions. "This is an indication on the part of the Taiwan government to further normalize the relations between the Philippines and Taiwan and this is to the credit of former Sen. Mar Roxas for his efforts," he said. In a text message to reporters, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ricky Carandang said Roxas has received the invitation and President Benigno Aquino III has already authorized him to go to Taiwan. Roxas will most likely return to Taiwan on March 13 or 14, Carandang said. Last Feb. 21, Roxas visited Taiwan as the Philippines' special envoy to defuse the tension over the deportation mess. But Taiwan demanded an apology. Asked if the Philippine government’s move to appoint former Armed Forces chief Gen. Ricardo David to the Bureau of Immigration had a bearing on Taiwan's decision to relax the restrictions, Lacierda said, Taiwan's move was a "bonus." "Bonus in the sense that they have regarded the decision as a form of apology and if they took the appointment of Gen. David as a form of apology, we will not argue with them on that," he added. Lacierda said last Wednesday President Benigno Aquino III appointed David as Immigration chief because of the latter's managerial capability and ability to cleanse the agency of corruption. Moreover, Lacierda said that Taiwan's move "is just an indication that they would like to put the deportation incident behind them and to normalize relations between the Philippines and Taiwan and we view that as a step in the right direction." Last February, the Philippine government deported 14 Taiwanese to China, an incident that offended the Taiwan government. Taiwan later tightened its rules on overseas workers wishing to go there. It imposed additional requirements such as a "red ribbon" or an authentication from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for documents such as National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance, birth certificate, and marriage contract. Applicants will also have to present identification cards issued by the Social Security System, Philhealth and Commission on Elections. In addition, visa applications, which normally get approved in one week, will have to wait for as long as four months. Also, Taiwan suspended its online visa assistance to Filipinos. — LBG/RSJ, GMA News