Taiwan yesterday announced an immediate relaxation of some visa application requirements for Filipino workers after Manila replaced its immigration chief in an apparent effort to resolve a diplomatic dispute between the two sides.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has named Ricardo David Jr to replace Ronaldo Ledesma as commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration, the Philippines’ Malacanang Palace said in a statement yesterday.
On Monday, the Philippines Department of Justice also removed Faizal Hussin from his post as head of the Bureau of Immigration Intelligence Division and appointed Maria Antonette Bucasas as his replacement.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, REUTERS
The two personnel changes were viewed by Taiwan as a form of apology from the Philippines for deporting 14 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China on Feb. 2, which resulted in a month-long rift between Taiwan and the Philippines.
“With these changes, the Philippine government has shown goodwill and regret,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) told a press conference.
“The Republic of China government announces the immediate relaxation of some visa application requirements for Filipino workers,” he said.
However, Taiwan’s other retaliatory measures against Manila will remain in place for now, the ministry said. They include an extension — from 12 days to up to four months — on the process for screening applications by Filipinos seeking to work in Taiwan.
In addition, Taiwan is planning to recall its representative to the Philippines, although it has not yet set a date for doing so. On Feb. 10, the Taiwan government also announced that Filipinos would be required to submit their Social Security System Card, instead of any other social security document, as part of their application to work in Taiwan. Taiwan had been seeking an apology from Manila, which cited its “one China” policy as the reason for sending the fraud suspects to China instead of to Taiwan.
Antonio Basilio, managing director of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) — the Philippines’ de facto representative office in Taiwan — said his office appreciated “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ efforts in resolving this issue and we look forward to further strengthening our friendship.”
MECO Chairman Amadeo Perez Jr sent a letter to the ministry on Tuesday, under the authorization of Aquino, reassuring Taipei that Manila was taking steps to resolve the dispute, Yang told reporters.
In the letter, Perez reiterated the Philippines’ “deepest regrets” for any hurt feelings the incident may have caused and recognized Taiwan’s allegations of possible lapses and mishandling by Philippine immigration authorities.
Perez said MECO has initiated a process for establishing a -mechanism for mutual legal assistance and would arrange a joint feasibility study for an Economic Partnership Agreement, Yang said.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said they remained opposed to defining a separate deportation earlier this week as a measure of goodwill. In the latest case, a Taiwanese fraud suspect was deported by the Philippines to Taiwan rather than China, and the party called it a separate case that had nothing to do with Beijing.
“It would have been an expression of goodwill had Beijing demanded the deportee but the Philippines still agreed to send him to Taiwan,” DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬). “Otherwise, where is the special favor here?”
“The deportation has nothing to do with the [spat with the Philippines]. There’s no need to exaggerate it and call it goodwill,” Gao added.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VINCENT Y. CHAO
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