Tarnishing our international image

The inefficiency of our government is on display when two or more units work at cross purposes with each other.

- BOO CHANCO

The result is wasted taxpayer money that could have been used more productively.

My colleague, Cito Beltran, wrote about the plight of South Koreans who are holders of special retirement visas who were forcibly evicted from their own homes by BCDA in Camp John Hay in Baguio. The Koreans are, strictly speaking, our guests because we invited them to come here to retire. BCDA tarnished our international image badly.

The Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) is a tourism-oriented agency of our government mandated to develop and promote the Philippines as a retirement haven. The idea is to encourage people from all over the world to come here and spend their golden years in our beautiful country and enjoy our hospitality. In the process, we earn foreign exchange, create jobs in the countryside and create a buzz about how great our country is for visitors to spend time and money in.

PRA provides incentives and an attractive retirement package to get the retirees to come. PRA gives them a Special Resident Retiree's Visa (SRRV), which is a non-immigrant, multiple-entry and indefinite-stay visa. The retirees normally choose to reside in our tourist areas, places like Baguio City, for instance.

A government entity called the Bases Conversion Development Authority or BCDA was assigned to develop former US military camps like Camp John Hay.

BCDA conducted a public bidding for John Hay and the initial winner was Manuela Land, a company of Manny Villar. But it withdrew a month later. Then Fil-Estate Management, a company associated with the Sobrepeña family that submitted the second highest bid, stepped up and accepted the mandate to develop John Hay.