Mindanao lawmakers seek special visas for Japan investors, expats

MANILA, Philippines – Two Mindanao lawmakers urged the Bureau of Immigration yesterday to grant special visas to investors and expatriate workers in Japan who are relocating here.

In Resolution 1277, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City and his brother Maximo, who represents the party-list group Abante Mindanao, quoted news reports that many countries are fighting over investors and talent “exiting Japan because of the (March 11) earthquake.”

“There is no reason why the Philippines cannot be one of the preferred destinations. These expats could bring with them a wealth of knowledge and investments, which could definitely help the Philippine economy,” they said.

They noted that Japan is still struggling to recover from the recent quake and tsunami, “which battered the northeast coast and crippled a nuclear plant 250 kilometers from Tokyo, causing radiation leakages and fears of contamination.”

The two congressmen said neighbors of the Philippines like Hong Kong have started enticing businessmen and expats in Japan to relocate to their territories.

They proposed that the House of Representatives call on the Bureau of Immigration “to speed up the processing of visas, set up a special express lane or establish a new kind of visa” for investors and expats in Japan who want to relocate here.

Earlier, the two Mindanao lawmakers urged the government to offer companies that shut down some plants in Tokyo and neighboring areas due to the quake and which have factories here to expand their operations so they could cope with demand at home and in other countries.

Japanese companies in the United States and Europe had to close shop for a few days because of delays in the supply of spare parts produced in Japan.

The Rodriguez brothers said many of these companies have subsidiaries operating here or are investors in local firms, which could fill the shortages in spare parts and raw materials.

The top three car companies here, for example, are owned partly by Japanese carmakers, they said. –Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star)