FFCCCI backs bill legalizing aliens doing business in the Philippines

The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce Inc. (FFCCCI), one of the country’s oldest and biggest business groups, is supporting a proposed bill in Congress seeking to legalize some 20,000 illegal aliens doing business in the country.

The proposed alien legalization law, according to FFCCCI president Francis Chua, would reportedly raise an estimated P15 billion for the government based on calculations made by the Bureau of Immigration.

The aim of the bill, Chua said, would be to bring into the tax fold illegal aliens who are conducting business but are not paying the proper taxes to the government.

Under the proposed legislation, illegal aliens would be given permanent resident status upon payment of a P300,000 registration fee by the head of the family. Each individual family member of the registering alien would have to pay an additional P25,000.

Chua stressed permanent residency is different from citizenship as a permanent resident status would allow the alien to stay legally in the country but does not entitle him to own property, vote nor run for public office.

However, by giving the illegal aliens permanent resident status, Chua said the government could more accurately monitor their businesses and require them to pay the proper taxes.

Chua said there are a lot of illegal Chinese, Korean and Indian nationals doing business in the country but are not paying the proper business taxes. Once their status is legalized, such aliens would be able to register their businesses properly.