Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros said Sunday said the alleged influx of Chinese students in Cagayan is a matter of national security and should be probed since it is near an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) site.

In an interview with dzBB, Hontiveros said: “When it comes to national security concerns, we are looking at the People’s Republic of China’s involvement in the flocking of Chinese students to Cagayan, which also has an EDCA site. It’s out of the ordinary. That’s why we need to probe this.”

“When it comes to immigration, we know that there are many Chinese syndicates and fugitives that were able to enter the country because of POGOs (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators),” she said.

“If it is proven that they are really Chinese students, then okay. There should be no problem. At least we know the truth,” she added.

In a forum on Saturday, Tuguegerao Mayor Maila Ting-Que said the city is known as a “center for educational excellence” in Cagayan.

“ Can’t the people who want to have a good education stay here?” Ting-Que said.

“Tuguegarao is open to everyone who wants to come here as long as they are here legally and are not doing anything wrong. They are welcome to become students or residents,” she added.

Ting-Que also denied that there were 4,600 Chinese students in one university, saying she was “very disappointed over the racial undertones this has taken on.” Jaspearl Tan/DMS