BY DANIEL M. PEREZ
Journal Staff
MANILA, Philippines — A Guam delegation led by Jesse A. Lujan, majority leader of the 38th Guam Legislature and chairman of the Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Customs, Utilities, and Federal & Foreign Affairs, met with Philippine immigration officials to advance efforts to include the Philippines in the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program.
The June 11 discussion focused on establishing a coordinated, data-driven pathway to support the inclusion of the Philippines, which allows eligible travelers from participating areas to enter Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands for business or pleasure for up to 45 days without a visa. The meeting follows commitments from the governors of Guam and the NMI to pursue a joint request under Section 702(b)(3) of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008.
Joel Alejandro S. Nacnac, deputy commissioner of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, stated that the bureau is already implementing the passport controls, regulatory frameworks, and internal safeguards necessary to satisfy the requirements of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Lujan noted that the current visa requirement creates a passenger bottleneck, which recently led to the cancellation of an additional Philippine Airlines flight to Cebu due to a lack of demand despite available air-route incentives.
Preliminary data indicates strong two-way travel demand, with more than 35,000 Guam residents visiting the Philippines annually and approximately 25,000 Filipino travelers visiting Guam each year. Proponents argue that a tourist-only waiver addresses federal concerns regarding historical visa overstays because tourist overstays represent a minor share of total overstays.
Bureau data shows that the non-waiver visitor overstay rate for the Philippines averaged 2.22% in fiscal 2024, while waiver tourists averaged 0.49%. In contrast, temporary workers under the H-2B program experienced a 40% overstay rate in fiscal 2017, which led to the country's exclusion from those programs in 2019.
To formalize the initiative, officials agreed to establish a regional working group to identify specific procedural safeguards, including electronic travel authorizations, biometric e-passport compliance, and traveler data-sharing via Interpol databases.
The working group will comprise representatives from Guam, the NMI, and the Philippines, including both lieutenant governors, Joe Guerrero, co-chair of the NMI Economic Recovery Task Force, and officials from the Guam Visitors Bureau and the Guam International Airport Authority. The Guam delegation in Manila also included John M. Quinata, executive manager of the GIAA, Brian Bamba, board chairman of the GIAA, Gurvinder Sobti, board vice chairman of the GIAA, Frank Santos, consultant for the GIAA, and Chirag M. Bhojwani, consultant for the Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Customs, Utilities, and Federal & Foreign Affairs. The local initiatives will align with pending federal outreach by James Moylan, Guam delegate to Congress.
"This is about more than tourism," Lujan said. "This is about families, history, economic recovery, and Guam's role as a bridge between the United States and the Philippines."
Geographic isolation ensures that the program remains strictly limited to Guam and the NMI, requiring a separate inspection and admission process for any onward travel to Hawaii or the U.S. mainland. mbj
Journal Staff
MANILA, Philippines — A Guam delegation led by Jesse A. Lujan, majority leader of the 38th Guam Legislature and chairman of the Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Customs, Utilities, and Federal & Foreign Affairs, met with Philippine immigration officials to advance efforts to include the Philippines in the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program.
The June 11 discussion focused on establishing a coordinated, data-driven pathway to support the inclusion of the Philippines, which allows eligible travelers from participating areas to enter Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands for business or pleasure for up to 45 days without a visa. The meeting follows commitments from the governors of Guam and the NMI to pursue a joint request under Section 702(b)(3) of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008.
Joel Alejandro S. Nacnac, deputy commissioner of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, stated that the bureau is already implementing the passport controls, regulatory frameworks, and internal safeguards necessary to satisfy the requirements of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Lujan noted that the current visa requirement creates a passenger bottleneck, which recently led to the cancellation of an additional Philippine Airlines flight to Cebu due to a lack of demand despite available air-route incentives.
Preliminary data indicates strong two-way travel demand, with more than 35,000 Guam residents visiting the Philippines annually and approximately 25,000 Filipino travelers visiting Guam each year. Proponents argue that a tourist-only waiver addresses federal concerns regarding historical visa overstays because tourist overstays represent a minor share of total overstays.
Bureau data shows that the non-waiver visitor overstay rate for the Philippines averaged 2.22% in fiscal 2024, while waiver tourists averaged 0.49%. In contrast, temporary workers under the H-2B program experienced a 40% overstay rate in fiscal 2017, which led to the country's exclusion from those programs in 2019.
To formalize the initiative, officials agreed to establish a regional working group to identify specific procedural safeguards, including electronic travel authorizations, biometric e-passport compliance, and traveler data-sharing via Interpol databases.
The working group will comprise representatives from Guam, the NMI, and the Philippines, including both lieutenant governors, Joe Guerrero, co-chair of the NMI Economic Recovery Task Force, and officials from the Guam Visitors Bureau and the Guam International Airport Authority. The Guam delegation in Manila also included John M. Quinata, executive manager of the GIAA, Brian Bamba, board chairman of the GIAA, Gurvinder Sobti, board vice chairman of the GIAA, Frank Santos, consultant for the GIAA, and Chirag M. Bhojwani, consultant for the Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Customs, Utilities, and Federal & Foreign Affairs. The local initiatives will align with pending federal outreach by James Moylan, Guam delegate to Congress.
"This is about more than tourism," Lujan said. "This is about families, history, economic recovery, and Guam's role as a bridge between the United States and the Philippines."
Geographic isolation ensures that the program remains strictly limited to Guam and the NMI, requiring a separate inspection and admission process for any onward travel to Hawaii or the U.S. mainland. mbj
