Lawmaker Bucks ASEAN Visa Plan, Cites National Security Concerns - BusinessWorld Online

Lawmaker bucks ASEAN visa plan, cites national security concerns - BusinessWorld Online

A CONGRESSMAN on Wednesday opposed the Philippines’ endorsement of a plan to have a unified visa system for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN), raising concerns about foreign spy infiltration. In a statement, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez urged Tourism Secretary Ma. Esperanza Christina G. Frasco to withdraw her agency’s endorsement of the planned visa system, telling her to consider the consequences to national security. …

Ex-Immigration chief: ASEAN unified visa may let in spies

Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez on Wednesday opposed the proposed ASEAN unified visa system, saying this could lead to unabated entry of Chinese spies into the country.

Cagayan de Oro City Representative Rufus Rodriguez appealed to President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos to instruct Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco to withdraw the agency's support for the ASEAN unified visa system plan. Rodriguez warned that the unified visa system, similar to the Schengen visa in Europe, is dangerous to our national security. Rodriguez explained that it will open our country to Chinese spies posing as tourists. Rodriguez gave th…