A LAWMAKER from Mindanao called on the Bureau of Immigration, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the military and police intelligence community to probe the suspicious and aggressive influx of Chinese nationals in areas near all RP-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites and other major seaports and airports in the country.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said the DFA and the BI are the lead agencies that should be held responsible and accountable for the continuing and suspicious arrival and presence of said nationals in various parts of the country.

“Dapat lang siguro na alamin natin at imbestigahan ang BI kung ilang Chinese nationals na ba talaga ang nasa loob ng ating bansa, ano ang nature ng hawak nilang mga travel documents, at kung saan saang parte ng ating bansa sila naka-deploy,” he said.

“At itong mga DFA officials natin sa China, nagsasagawa ba sila ng due diligence sa pag-apruba ng visa ng mga Chinese nationals na pumupunta sa ating bansa? Dapat din siguro alamin natin sa kanila kung an status ng mga Chinese nationals na binigyan nila ng visa, ang bilang ng mga pumunta dito at bumalik sa China, at ilan pa ang numero ng mga naiwan pa dito,” he added.

According to the Mindanaoan solon, all concerned agencies, particularly the BI and the DFA, are aware that there exists a “Chinese mafia” that is engaged in the procurement and processing of fake documents, and they include fake birth certificates coming from the Philippine Statistics Authority, fake passports emanating from the DFA, drivers license issued by the Land Transportation Authority, fake gun license coming from the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office, among others.

“The question is: What have these government agencies done to counter in the tampering of their respective offices’ documents? They are all eerily quiet on this issue. Are some of the officials of said agencies in cahoots or enables of the Chinese mafia?” Barbers asked.

Barbers said based on initial information received by his office, the ‘fake Filipino nationals’ who can’t even utter a single Filipino word, use their Filipino enablers in the buying spree of huge tracts of lands near EDCA sites, near major air and sea ports, and establish large number of warehouses and other business establishments.

“One can see those warehouses sprouting like mushrooms in Central Luzon, particularly in Pampanga and Bulacan, Bataan, Zambales, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and nearby towns in the region. Now they are slowly but surely creeping in Cagayan near where the two EDCA sites are located,” he said.

Five Philippine military installations were designated in 2016 as EDCA sites, and they include Basa Air Base in Pampanga; Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan; Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu; and Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro.

The four latest additional EDCA sites, as announced by the US Defense Department, includes: Naval Base Camilo Osias in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, Camp Melchor Aquino in Gamu, Isabela; Balabac Islands in Palawan; and Lal-Lo Airport in Cagayan.

“Ang deployment at pagbibili ng lupa, pagtatayo ng negosyo ng mga Chinese nationals na malapit sa EDCA sites ay dapat bigyan tuon ng mga concerned agencies sa ating bansa. Hindi ba tayo dapat mag-usisa at alamin bakit sila nandyan at kung ano talaga ang ginagawa nila dyan,” Barbers said.

He said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has already denounced the intrusion into the Philippine territory and the bullying tactics of China in the West Philippine Sea and yet, officials from the BI, the DFA, the military and police intelligence agencies, including the Philippine Coast Guard who hired Chinese nationals as auxiliary members, appear to be all “quiet and sleeping on their jobs.”

Barbers lauded Cagayan solons – Rep. Joseph Lara (3rd District) and Faustino “Inno” Dy (6th District) – for bringing into the open the alarming influx of Chinese students in colleges and universities in Tuguegarao amid the country’s tension with China over the WPS.

He said he is one hundred percent in agreement with the contention of Lara and Dy that the presence of huge numbers of Chinese nationals in Cagayan and other parts of the country pose a risk to the country’s national security and economy, “particularly since a number of these foreigners had been found out to be involved in spurious schemes.”

“The residents of the Multinational Village in Paranaque City have denounced the presence of soldiers-like Chinese nationals in their village, doing noisy calisthenics and military exercises every morning. Are they Chinese spies or soldiers already present in the country, all hiding in plain sight?” Barbers asked.