Saturday, July 19, 2008 PRA office to boost services to retirees
AN OFFICIAL of the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) said Friday that the opening of its new office at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Southern Mindanao will serve the increasing number of retirees in the island.
Noehl Bautista, officer-in-charge of the Servicing Division of the Resident Retirees Servicing Center of the PRA, said they have a total of 18,000 principal retirees as of the first quarter of 2008, and that 300 to 350 of them are located in Mindanao.
"In Mindanao, Davao City has the greatest number of retirees, about 200; the others are in Zamboanga and in Cagayan," Baustista told Sun.Star.
The PRA office will be located at the DTI National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (DTI-Nerbac) in Mintrade Building, Monteverde Street, Davao City.
"On Monday, we will be launching our PRA desk at the Nerbac. We will be detailing one to two persons at our desk," Bautista said.
Bautista said Davao City is one of six focal areas identified by PRA Chair Edgar Aglipay as potential sites for foreign retirees.
"Our office here in Davao will be our fourth satellite office aside from Metro Manila," she said, adding that aside from Metro Manila, PRA in Cebu was already established, followed by one in Clark Subic, and another in Baguio City. A PRA office in Tagaytay will also be established within this year.
"Retirees in Davao and in Mindanao don't have to go to Manila to renew their IDs and visas," Bautista said, adding that the PRA is strengthening its efforts to establish offices outside Metro Manila to promote the Philippines as the best retirement destination in Southeast Asia.
PRA, Bautista said, issues the Special Resident Retirement Visa, which enables a foreign national or a former Filipino citizen to come in and go out of the country without any hassle.
She, on the other hand, said the Philippines is far behind Malaysia and Thailand, which topped the preferred retirement destinations.
In May 2006, Aglipay brought down the deposit required of foreigners who wish to be members of PRA.
Bautista said it used to be that for applicants to become a member, they must deposit US$50,000 to US$75,000. Aglipay brought down the deposit requirement to US$20,000 to make it at par with Malaysia and Thailand.
"During that year, the number of retirees of PRA increased by as much as 100 percent," Bautista said.
PRA is mandated to attract foreign nationals and former Filipino citizens to invest, reside, and retire in the Philippines with the end-view of accelerating the socio-economic development of the country and contributing to the foreign currency reserve of the economy. (JGRS)
