The mission of the Philippine Retirement Authority has become so much harder these days.
Mandated to promote the country as a retirement haven, the PRA managed to attract foreign retirees to one of the country’s top travel destinations, Baguio City. The foreigners were issued non-immigrant, multiple-entry special resident retiree’s visas by the PRA, which allow them to stay indefinitely in the country.
They invested in condotels at Camp John Hay. Some of them have been residing at John Hay since 2014. They were stunned when government personnel backed by police showed up one day and told them they had to vacate the premises, following the victory of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority in its legal battle with Camp John Hay developer Fil-Estate Management.
Most of the private property owners who are being evicted from Camp John Hay are Filipinos. But at least 10 South Korean retirees, an Italian and a New Zealander are among those being evicted. The Koreans have lamented that a child was even locked up in a room and utilities were cut off to force them to vacate the units that they had paid for in good faith.
Even if the government compensates the property investors, this mess is another black eye in the efforts to attract foreign visitors. It’s a disaster for the PRA, which already faces enough challenges in reassuring the world that the Philippines is a safe and attractive place for retirement.
South Koreans aren’t the only foreigners who will be turned off, and who will pick other countries offering better options for retirees. And it is affecting not only the retirement community.
In recent years, South Korea has consistently ranked as the Philippines’ top source of foreign visitors. Last year, nearly 1.6 million South Koreans visited, accounting for over a fifth of the 5.9 million total international arrivals recorded by the Department of Tourism for 2024.
Those numbers could be bigger if Philippine law enforcement officials aren’t seen to be coddling one of their own, dismissed police colonel Rafael Dumlao, who remains at large following his conviction for the ransom kidnapping and gruesome execution of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo inside Camp Crame. The murder this week of a 23-year-old Slovak tourist, Michaela Mickova, who was found half-naked with a stab wound in Boracay, can only aggravate foreigners’ concerns about visiting the Philippines.
With the current mess at Camp John Hay, South Koreans and other foreigners will worry not only about their personal safety in the Philippines but also the safety of their investments. When Philippine officials tell the world that the country is open for business, they should make sure they are not referring to monkey business.