By Gio J. Tanudtanud
THE PHILIPPINE Retirement Authority continues to design incentives and benefits to package the country as a haven for elderly foreigners.
At the Kapihan sa PIA at NCCC Victoria Plaza Mall, Roberto Z. Zozobrado, PRA general manager, said the Philippines is the most hospitable compared to neighboring Asian countries as Filipinos are known for their English-speaking skills and welcoming nature.
“There’s one thing that we have that our other Asian neighbors don’t do. They smile for other people, we smile, and then after our smile, we give them our hearts. We do things with our hearts and that is one thing that gives us an advantage over the other Asian neighbors,” he said.
According to Zozobrado, they are now transitioning to digitalization for more efficient and convenient delivery of services. For instance, they started sharing data with the Bureau of Immigration to easily track retirees going in and out of the country.
He added the PRA has established a satellite office in Davao City with plans to expand it to other areas in Mindanao, particularly in Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga to make their services more accessible to foreigners.
“These three satellite offices in Mindanao should be enough to handle the needs of the retirees in Mindanao,” he said.
The top five foreign retirees in the Philippines are from China, South Korea, India, the US (Most are Filipinos with US citizenship), and Taiwan with China being the highest among the other countries.
