Retirement visas put on hold amid concerns. Inquirer Newsletter. October 24, 2020

No images? Click here   FOR DISINFECTION   Three sections of the government-run Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Manila, including the OB emergency room, will be closed down for four days starting Saturday to undergo general disinfection following a spike in COVID-19 infections among its doctors and nurses. Also to be shut are the pediatric emergency room and the outpatient department. —RICHARD A. REYES     News 82K inmates freed to help contain virus Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta on Friday said nearly 82,000 inmates had been released since March due to the Supreme Court’s intervention to help curb the spread of COVID-19 in local jails. “This is the initiative of the Supreme Court and not due to the petition or request of parties involved, because we felt that COVID-19 will spread in jails and other detention centers at the time,” Peralta said. —STORY BY MARLON RAMOS Read more: philippinedailyinquirerplus.pressreader.com   World US approves use of remdesivir WASHINGTON—The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval to the antiviral drug remdesivir as a treatment for patients hospitalized with COVID-19, making it the first and only drug approved for the disease in the United States. The FDA cited multiple clinical trials, including a study that showed patients on the drug had a recovery time 31-percent faster than those on placebo. —STORY BY AFP AND REUTERS Read more: philippinedailyinquirerplus.pressreader.com   To Be You Module asks students to pen wedding vows Another week, another problematic module. One from the Department of Education Negros Oriental appears to reinforce gender stereotypes. It also asks 13-and 14-year-olds to reminisce about their experiences of courtship, write their wedding vows and plan a pregnant woman’s meals for a week. One line goes: “Rachel does not engage in sexual behavior because she would like to protect her reputation and that of her family.’’ —STORY BY PAM PASTOR Read more: philippinedailyinquirerplus.pressreader.com     To Be You How social media turned into a place of misinformation  As most of us teenagers get settled into the “new normal,” many of us have been finding ways to optimize our time spent in the confines of our own homes. Aside from discovering new skills, and even opening up mini home-based businesses for extra income, social media has remained a constant in the lives of many of us Gen Z. —STORY BY CALEB ANDREW TIAM-LEE, CONTRIBUTOR Read more: philippinedailyinquirerplus.pressreader.com   Newsletter / Join us Has this been forwarded by a friend? Subscribe now to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Newsletter and get your latest news and important updates on COVID-19 and the enhanced community quarantine. Subscribe     Get yours here!   Banner story Retirement visas put on hold amid concerns By Marlon Ramos Foreigners wishing to retire in the Philippines may have to suspend their plans. The board of the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) on Friday suspended the granting of retirement visas to foreigners after several senators raised security concerns over the presence in the country of nearly 28,000 Chinese “retirees,” some of whom were only in their 30s. An attached agency of the Department of Tourism, the PRA was authorized by law to process and issue a retirement visa, which is a special nonimmigrant visa given to aliens who “like to make the Philippines their second home or investment destination.” The PRA board, chaired by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, also directed the agency’s officials to evaluate existing requirements for the issuance of special retirees residence visa (SRRV), which provides several privileges to its holders. “In a special meeting, the board directed the PRA to review its policies on the minimum age and dollar deposit requirements, and the conversion of these deposits into allowable investments,” the PRA said in a statement. “Pursuant to its current policy, which had been implemented since 1993, the PRA accepts retirees [who] are at least 35 years old,” it said. The board said all applications and processing of SRRV would be temporarily suspended as it would discuss possible changes in the policies during their next meeting on Nov. 6. It directed the PRA to closely coordinate with the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Department of Justice and the Department of Labor and Employment, and improve its program to “regularly monitor the profile and activities” of foreign retirees. “The PRA was also directed to coordinate with the Tourism Promotions Board for the formulation and review of PRA’s marketing and product development plans, and the benchmarking of its retirement program with other countries,” the board added. Among the privileges enjoyed by holders of SRRV are indefinite stay in the Philippines, exemption from the filing of annual immigration card to the BI and from the payment of travel tax and customs duties for the one-time importation of household and personal items worth up to $7,000. During a Senate budget hearing on Monday, Sen. Richard Gordon quizzed Puyat on why Chinese nationals who were only 35 years old allowed to live in the country as foreign retirees. Created by an executive order issued by dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1985, the PRA currently grants retirement visas to foreigners at least 35 years old who have a minimum of $50,000 (P2.5 million) cash on hand. ‘Soldier’s age’ Gordon, who had previously warned that Chinese-owned Philippine offshore gaming operators could just be fronting for China’s intelligence agencies to snoop in the country, said the number of Chinese retirees posed a “national security concern” since 35 is considered “soldier’s age.” “Their number is equal to 27 (Army) regiments. That’s dangerous. Why would they retire here at 35?” Gordon said at the hearing. The Philippines and China have for decades been embroiled in a maritime dispute over parts of the South China Sea.   Beijing has been insisting on its sole ownership of nearly the entire waterway, including the West Philippine Sea, which is part of the country’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone. In 2016, China’s claim was dismissed by an international arbitral tribunal in favor of the Philippine government, who challenged Beijing’s so-called nine-dash-line maritime boundaries. Multiple visa dangerous Gordon said that the Chinese could have chosen the Philippines as their supposed retirement destination “because they can go back and forth without visa.” “With a retirement visa, they can have multiple visa. That is dangerous. I didn’t know that. I’m disturbed by it,” Gordon said. “Retirees, as you know, retire at the average of 56 to 60, to 65 years old.” According to the PRA, around 28,000 Chinese had already been granted retirement visas. They account for about 40 percent of all foreign retirees living in the country. At far second are Koreans with 14,200, followed by Indians (6,100), Taiwanese (4,850), Japanese (4,000), Americans (3,700), Hong Kongers (1,870), British (1,600), Germans (800) and Australians (750).   Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net   Editorial Schooled by a schoolgirl Let's start things off with this story about a Grade 1 student named Ayesha Agura shared by her elder sister Dianne. Ayesha is being guided by Dianne through her "blended learning" experience in this time of quarantines and remote learning. One time, Dianne shared in a post, she found that while she had stepped away from her sister’s side, Ayesha had answered portions of her worksheet by herself. In one page, students were instructed to encircle illustrations of toys meant for girls, and enclose in boxes toys meant for boys. Ayesha had encircled and boxed all the choices. Asked to explain, Ayesha said "Ate, ang laruan, laruan kasi. Pwede naman lahat ‘yan sa babae at sa lalake eh. Ako nga di ba naglalaro naman ng kotsekotse-han at dinosaur, lalaki ba ako? Di ba hindi naman? Eh di pwede 'to sa babae..." Aside from teaching her teacher (or whoever prepared the module) a thing or two about gender parity and stereotypes, Ayesha also has a lot to teach other public figures, including Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. who recently, in the guise of dishing out "advice," kicked a hornet’s nest by threatening and Red-tagging, in a roundabout way, assertive, progressive-minded women who were somehow linked to antigovernment groups. General Parlade, take a leaf from Ayesha Agura, who even at her tender age already knows far more than you about gender fairness and awareness.   Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net   Copyright © 2020 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: P.O. 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