If you are one of those regularly watching and monitoring the news in the Philippines, you might be one of those who’ve heard about the rising presence of Chinese tourists in the country.
Reports about the increasing presence of Chinese restaurants and even Chinese renters in Metro Manila have been in the news for quite some time.
And just recently, there were 91 Chinese nationals who were apprehended in Laguna after they failed to present proper working documents and permits while working a business processing outsourcing (BPO) company there.
But what is it with this growing number of Chinese nationals doing here in the Philippines?
A report from Los Angeles Times bares a possible reason behind all of this. The Philippines has become a gambling destination in Asia.
The same report says the country is “Asia’s third-most-lucrative gambling destination”, just way behind Singapore and Macao.
How do they do this?
Simply armed with a mobile phone, Chinese bettors can access a lottery website out of the reach of Chinese authorities.
Gambling in China is prohibited, but this hasn’t stopped them from reestablishing offshore gaming companies.
Some have even put up live streams from Manila of baccarat tables replete with croupiers.
Their numbers are increasing and the Philippine government said it cannot stop gambling in the country.
The number of Chinese tourists has also increased since 2016 after President Rodrigo Duterte announced his “separation: from the United States and realignment with China.
Their continued presence in the Philippines has somehow increased revenue, especially for those who rent out their places to some of these Chinese tenants.
In a report by ABS-CBN, it said that Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez estimated a collection of P2 billion per month from at least 100,000 offshore gaming workers.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has been encouraged to collect taxes on these workers.
On Friday, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said taxes should not only be collected on online gaming business but as well as in other industries like construction.
With their growing number of undocumented Chinese workers in the Philippines, President Duterte has called on for “tolerance” fearing that if he asks them to leave, they might as well ask the 300,000 Filipino workers in China to leave there.
