MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has barred the entry of 2,351 foreign nationals, including 1,129 from China, during the first six months of this year.
In a statement, BI Port Operations Division (POD) chief Grifton Medina reported to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente that the foreigners were stopped at the different international airports in the country.
Statistics from the BI-POD travel control and enforcement unit showed that almost half of those turned away were Chinese, followed by 106 Indians, 87 Americans, 52 Taiwanese and 67 Koreans.
“They were turned back after undergoing primary and secondary inspection by our immigration officers and were declared unfit for admission into our country for a variety of reasons. They were issued exclusion orders and booked on the first available flight to their ports of origin,” Medina said.
These aliens were barred after they were found to be either registered sex offenders, wanted fugitives, suspected international terrorists or blacklisted and previously deported.
The entries of others were denied for being “public charges” or classified as persons without visible means of supporting themselves and whose purpose of coming here was doubtful.
Morente said those excluded for being a public charge or whose entry is a threat to public order and safety would be barred from re-entering the country.
Several others were turned back for being rude and disrespectful toward immigration officers and for having incomplete travel documents.
Out of the 2,351 foreigners, Medina said, 1,920 were turned away at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport while the rest were stopped at the airports in Mactan, Clark, Kalibo, Aklan and Davao.
“Our immigration officers are working hard day and night to protect our borders from these threats. We are serious in our drive against illegal aliens and we are doing the best so we can stop them from entering the country,” Morente said.
He added that the BI is “not targeting specific nationalities” but is instead “targeting illegal and undocumented individuals who try to enter the Philippines.” – With Rudy Santos