AFP Checking Chinese Students’ Influx In Cagayan

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is looking into the reported swarm of Chinese college students in the province of Cagayan.

More than 4,600 Chinese nationals have reportedly enrolled in a private university and rented homes in various locations in Tuguegarao.

The military will coordinate with the Philippine National Police (PNP) on the matter, AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said.

“The AFP takes seriously any reports so we are looking into this, but in terms of peace and order issues, that is the mandate of the PNP,” Padilla told reporters on Tuesday, April 16, at a press briefing.

“We’ll be working with them closely on this matter, so investigations will be on their end, and if there will be AFP requirements from their end, then we will be extending our assistance accordingly,” she added.

Reacting to calls for a legislative inquiry, Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba said he believes that having foreign students in Tuguegarao is not a security threat.

“The presence of Chinese students in Cagayan and nationwide is the result of an agreement made by Chinese learning institutions and the Commission on Higher Education,” he explained in a statement, pointing to a 2019 agreement between CHED and the Ministry of China.

It is not true that Chinese students are benefitting from local government educational support, Mamba said.

He said all foreign students entering the country and Cagayan are properly documented.

“Foreign students entering the country and the province have a student visa and documents approved by the Department of Foreign Affairs,” he stressed.

There is no reason to link the Chinese students to the country’s problems with China in the West Philippine Sea, he noted.

“Although the governor opposed the establishment of EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement) sites in Cagayan, this doesn’t mean the province’s doors are closed to neighbor-ing countries. The province is open to trade and assistance,” the statement read.?

‘Invasion’

The influx of Chinese workers, businessmen, tourists and students in the Philippines is alarming, Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said on Tuesday, declaring that the “creeping invasion has begun.”

Barbers expressed concern over reports of “seemingly both unexplainable and inexplicable presence” of Chinese nationals in the country.

It is anomalous that these foreigners obtained Filipino birth certificates, driver’s licenses, UMID cards, passports and even accreditations and auxiliary membership in the armed services, particularly the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), he noted.

“The only sure thing right now is that corruption at its worst has eaten us up. This is the only logical explanation,” said Barbers, chair of the House committee on dangerous drugs.

“(If these Chinese nationals could get all these accreditations) and buy our agricultural and private lands, acquire and lease properties and other assets, enroll in our universities on the pretext and cover of exchange student programs, work here without permits, obtain loans from our banks then abscond or leave the country without a trace, then we are drafting our epitaph as a nation,” Barbers said.

“We only have ourselves to blame. The greed for money and power is killing this country. Unless we move now, we will see ourselves controlled by invaders tomorrow,” he added.

The presence of Chinese “aliens” – not Chinese-Filipinos – who became members of the PCG Auxiliary raises concerns about their real intentions, he noted.

They have been with the PCGA for two to three years, some even longer, when they were removed from the roster late last year, he added.

Chinese aliens would not have secured documents exclusively reserved for Filipinos “without the connivance of Filipinos,” Barbers asserted.

“How can they, in large numbers, not arouse suspicion to any agency unless the people responsible have been blinded by money or are grossly incompetent and ignorant?” he added.

There is a need to investigate student exchange programs that have been sanctioned by the CHED, he said, insinuating that this could be an entry point for Chinese nationals.

“There is no time to spare. This state-sponsored ‘creeping invasion’ has been happening for years, not just yesterday. I thought that we only gave away a shoal. I didn’t know that the entire country may also be a subject of an agreement,” he maintained.

He was referring to the reported verbal “gentleman’s agreement” between China and former president Rodrigo Duterte. – With Sheila Crisostomo