Guam Delegate James Moylan and Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero met separately with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during his stop in Guam on Thursday.
Moylan met with Mullin at the U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia, Sector Guam facility. He said the conversations with Mullin focused on expanding the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program to include the Philippines and strengthening Coast Guard capabilities in the region.
“Including the Philippines in the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program remains a top priority of mine,” Moylan said. “This is an opportunity to strengthen our tourism economy and deepen our ties with the Philippines while ensuring the proper safeguards remain in place.”
Moylan in a statement issued on Saturday, recognized the advocacy by the Guam Legislature's Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Customs, Utilities and Federal and Foreign Affairs Chair and Majority Leader, Sen. Jesse Lujan and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds, to advance the effort federally.
“I appreciate Senator Lujan’s leadership and Delegate King-Hinds’ work to move this forward,” Moylan said. “This is a shared priority for Guam and the CNMI, and I’m excited to work with Delegate King-Hinds when Congress returns to session to keep building on this effort.”
In a separate meeting in Tumon, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero also relayed the importance of the Philippine visa waiver for Guam.
In a Facebook post on the Governor's official page, he r office noted that the DHS' enhanced border security efforts in the continental U.S. "make it more feasible for the DHS to help Guam's tourism economy with cabotage exemptions and a Philippine visa waiver for Guam."
The Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program currently includes Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea, to name a few. Inclusion of the Philippines in the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program would allow eligible Philippine citizens to travel to Guam or the CNMI for up to 45 days without a visa.
The meetings with local officials also focused on strengthening the U.S. Coast Guard's presence in the region.
“Guam is on the front lines of America’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific,” Moylan said. “Strengthening the Coast Guard’s presence here gives us greater capacity to protect our waters, combat illegal fishing, respond to emergencies, and strengthen America’s partnerships throughout the region.”
Capt. Jessica Worst, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam hosted the meeting between Mullin and Moylan, who advocated for additional Coast Guard personnel, aircraft, vessels and resources in Guam to strengthen regional patrols.
According to the Governor's office, Mullin was in Sydney for a meeting with counterparts from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom that included a demonstration of high-tech border security and surveillance systems that Australia’s border force is implementing to interdict smugglers and stop illegal fishing.
