177 Indonesians with Philippines passports nabbed at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines - Unable to speak Tagalog or any local dialect, 177 Indonesian nationals who posed as Filipinos and possessed Philippine passports were barred by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) yesterday from boarding their flight to Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

The interception of the 177 individuals prompted airport officials to tighten security due to intelligence reports that international terrorists were planning to enter the country through Mindanao and conduct bomb attacks.

In a statement, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said their Intelligence Division was originally just on the lookout for two Filipinos allegedly acting as escorts to a group of Indonesians scheduled to depart on Aug. 18 and yesterday.

The BI, Morente said, was surprised to discover that the scheme was on a much larger scale as it involved five Filipinos escorting 177 Indonesian nationals.

The bureau increased its vigilance against this scheme after President Duterte mentioned a passport racket involving foreigners who used Philippine passports to join the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The 177 Indonesians and their escorts were about to board Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight PR 8969 to Madinah at 12:30 a.m. when the BI Intelligence Division saw through their bogus claim of being Filipinos. 

Their identities were revealed when they were unable to speak local dialects such as Tagalog, Maranao, Cebuano or Maguindanao during the interview. They could only converse in English.

When confronted, the passengers supposedly admitted they were not Filipinos.

Morente said all of the Indonesians were found in possession of genuine Philippine passports that were apparently obtained through fraudulent means and allegedly provided by their Filipino escorts who organized the pilgrimage.

The Indonesians reportedly paid between $6,000 to $10,000 each.

Initial investigation revealed that the Indonesians were given Philippine passports to enable them to join the hajj pilgrimage, using the quota reserved for Filipino pilgrims by the Saudi government. There were no more available hajj slots for Indonesians, the organizers said.

They reportedly arrived in the country individually as tourists a few weeks before their scheduled pilgrimage and gave Jolo, Sulu as their address.

Morente ordered the immediate filing of violation of immigration laws against the Indonesians for reportedly misrepresenting themselves as Filipinos and for being undesirable aliens.

The five Filipino escorts, meanwhile, were reportedly placed in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for further investigation. With Rudy Santos, Rainier Allan Ronda