TOKYO – The United States should consider lifting visa requirements for Filipino tourists or else the Philippines might be forced to impose similar restrictions to American travelers to the country, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said.
“If they are not willing to grant us the same privilege, we might also require their citizens to come to our country to apply for a visa in our embassies,” Alvarez said in a recent media interview in Tokyo in support of President Duterte’s plan to compel American tourists to get a visa before entering the Philippines.
Alvarez, a member of the President’s delegation to Japan, has bewailed the lack of reciprocity between the Philippines and the United States when it comes to travel.
At present, he said, Filipinos must pay for a tourist visa before being permitted to enter the United States.
Americans, on other hand, are free to visit and roam the country without any visa.
“I want to pursue that idea of the President because normally, we have this reciprocity thing that when your country accepts, let’s say, a citizen of a particular country visa-free so you do the same,” Alvarez said.
“I’m wondering this is the only time that I know that US citizens as long as they carry their US passport, when come to the country, they have no visa. Whereas, Filipinos are required to fall in line about as early as 3 a.m. just to apply for a US visa. I think there must be a reciprocity also,” he added.
Alvarez said the Philippines must assert its sovereignty as a nation “if we want others to respect us.”
“Ang hirap kasi nasanay ‘yung Filipinos na bine-baby ang Amerika. Para bang hindi sila pwedeng magkamali, lahat ng gagawin nila ay tama,” he said.
Alvarez said it was now up to the Department of Foreign Affairs to implement the new visa scheme for American tourists as proposed by the President last week.
On the issue of Filipinos skipping immigration rules in the US, Alvarez said this was the problem that must be addressed by Washington, not Manila. “Yung TNT sa kanila, problema nila. Tayo naman kung may nag-TNT sa atin, problema natin ‘yun,” he added.
In his recent display of anti-American sentiment, the President announced he was considering implementing visa restrictions to American tourists to the Philippines. Duterte resented that the US has been giving Filipinos a hard time with visa restrictions, saying it was payback time. (GENALYN D. KABILING)
Kung talagang gusto ng mga kano na makapunta dito kailangan kumuha muna sila ng PH VIsa!
Sana po talaga magrequire na ang Pinas ng Visa sa mga kano!
Dapat lang. Para naman maging patas lang tayo kasi sila hinahanapan nila ng mga visa ang pinoy na pumupunta ng US
tama ka po speaker alvarez. kailangan ng pilipinas na hanapan ang mga kano ng Visa
Siguradong safe na ang mga pinoy kapag naipatupad na to.
yup lalo na maraming mga terrorista ngayon malay natin kano pala ang terrorist
abrup naman ata karamihan sito kay house speaker na magsecure ng us visa sila kasi its our own protecton naman sa kanila lalo na ngyon na maini si pres sa kanila
this is sucks! kasi prang pinepersonal na ni digong ang kano
ginagawa lang nila ang nararapat at hindi pinepersonal ang mga kano.
napaka unfair naman kung balik balik ang kano dito sa bansa kung tayo naman nagpapakahirap sa pila baldeng pagpapatatak pra huwag lang tayo ma deny dapat patas lang
thanks sa effort and support na pinapakita mo kay [angulolng duterte alvarez
sna maipatupad na rin yan Congressman pra hindi rin sila basta basta makaka punta dito saatin
dayuhan sila na pumapasok dito saating bansa kaya dapat na sumunod din sila sa mga patakaran natin.
sang-ayon ako dito para naman panty panty naman ang sistema hindi yung mga kano para lang ginagwang baclaran lang ang pilipnas kung dumayo sila dito.
para maproteksyonan ang mamayanang Pilipino huwag nang patagalin pa ipatupad na.
isa lang sila na mga turista na dumarayo sa pilipinas dapt din naman nila mranasan ang paghihirap katulad ng ndarama ng mga pinoy pag dumarayo saknila.
bakit kailangan pang pag usapan yan dpat maitupad na yan sa daming pwd mangyari saatin.
patas na kung ganun, wla nman tututol na ipatupad ang bagong batas
dapt naman tlaga ito sa mga kano dahil ang bansa natin dapt din paghirapan.
dapt naman tlaga ito sa mga kano dahil ang bansa natin dapt din paghirapan.
dapt mangyari nayan para hindi labas pasok dito ang mga kano.
para fair nmn sa pinas ang gingawa ng kano!
tama naman po yan para pantay pantay ang trato sa lahat.
ng maranasan din nila ang ng yayari sa mga pinoy pag kumukuha ng visa.
sang ayon din na naman ako dito,hind lang ang pilipino ang dapat mag hirap.Dapat sila din.
kung para ito sa seguridad ng mga pinoy bakit pa ntin ito tututulan.pagka tiwalaan na lang natin sila.
fantastic points altogether, you simply gained a brand new reader. What would you suggest in regards to your post that you made some days ago? Any positive?