WE TEND to think of tourism as short-term. Tourists arrive in the Philippines, enjoy a few days in the sun, then return to their homeland.
But the Department of Tourism (DOT) casts its net wider. It is responsible for the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) scheme in which non-Filipinos may obtain permanent residency status here. What is needed is for applicants to meet a security clearance test, be reasonably solvent (they need to deposit, for at least six months, $20,000 in an accredited bank). Afterwards, the funds may be withdrawn for an approved project. Applicants also need to be over 35 years of age.
It has occurred to me that the scheme could be marketed more assertively by DOT. If a non-Filipino enjoying his pensionable retirement here, he would confer economic benefits on his local community. A permanent resident would make a difference. A tourist spending a few days here may not really have much impact.
***
In a prescient article published in PN at the weekend (17-18 September), our colleague on these pages, Jed Jaleco Del Rosario, drew attention to the miserably cold winter that many European pensioners will experience due to the unavailability of Russian oil. The energy crisis is already making its presence felt. The cost of oil is rising dramatically.
The UK will be a significant sufferer from the energy crisis. Its government is making a short-term response by subsidizing energy costs for this winter and next. The effect on the economy will be substantial so that inflation, already an issue, will become much worse.
***
This week sees the annual General Assembly of the United Nations. Leaders of every UN member nation may, if they wish, address the meeting for a short (approximately 15 minutes) speech. BBM is due to be present and I hope he uses the opportunity to extol the many virtues of the Philippines. These include our cohesive foreign policy. We do not cause unnecessary offense. Other Nations support our stance relating to problems with China about fishing in the South China Sea.
On the downside, we need to be more proactive and forceful in our fight against corruption. We should understand that foreign direct investment here is substantially reduced because many countries recognize corruption as a two-way street. This means that companies paying bribes to corrupt officials here are also committing an offense in their own country. The US in particularly strict. President Jimmy Carter’s 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act will be invoked if American companies engage in hocus pocus.
***
I hope BBM’s New York trip will include a welcome to Filipinos living in the Big Apple. Many live in Harlem and the Bronx, nearby districts to the UN. Some years ago, GMA missed the opportunity to meet Filipinos. Instead, she spent a free evening having an expensive but not very good dinner at Le Cirque, an upmarket eatery.
BBM can gain a good PR advantage.
Let’s hope so!/PN
