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BI: 240,000 Koreans in RP, but only one-sixth documented

By EDU PUNAY
The Philippine Star

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Sunday there are some 240,000 South Korean nationals currently staying in the Philippines � but only a sixth of them have been properly documented.

BI intelligence chief Attorney Faizal Hussin revealed to The STAR that based on the monitoring of their agents, over 200,000 Koreans do not have the necessary travel and immigration papers. Half of them have pending applications with the bureau while the rest are completely unregistered.

"In our records, only 40,000 Koreans have visas and permits and around 90,000 have pending applications. Now the others are illegal aliens. They are the usual tourists who extend their stay here without even bothering to register with the bureau," explained Hussin.

BI records showed some 11,000 Koreans are presently holding working visas and special work permits while 29,000 have been issued with special study permits and student visas.

The BI official stressed this number of undocumented Korean nationals could even be much lower than the actual figure, considering the continuous influx of Koreans in the country. The bureau has earlier estimated some 600,000 of them arrive here every year.

"I think it�s becoming more obvious now that many Koreans are staying here. You can see them almost everywhere. The public knows about this. And we in the bureau are just doing our job of hunting down the illegal aliens," he explained.

Hussin said their intelligence information showed most of these illegal Koreans are involved in retail businesses in the country�s economic centers like Baguio, Manila, Makati, Angeles, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu and even Boracay.

The immigration official also revealed most Koreans in the country prefer to stay here "primarily because of our lower cost of living and education as compared to their country."

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan earlier ordered a crackdown on undocumented Koreans who are engaged in illegal retail trade in urban areas across the country.

The BI chief said he would meet with local government officials and seek the regulation of release of permits to businesses in the country owned by foreign nationals.

He lamented how the growing number of foreign nationals who are working in several businesses without the necessary work permit from the bureau has become a "serious and big problem."

Libanan explained that foreign nationals who put up businesses here usually bring with them other aliens as workers without securing necessary work permits from government.

The BI chief was also particularly worried of the effects of proliferation of illegal businesses owned by foreigners on local traders, citing "unfair competition."

Under the country�s retail trade liberalization law, no foreigner would be allowed to engage in retail trade unless he coughs up a minimum capital of $2.5 million.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=85504