Chinese top list of barred aliens in 2018 — Immigration

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese nationals made up nearly half of foreigners who were barred from entering the country during the first 10 months of the year, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said yesterday.

Of the 3,528 foreigners barred from entering the country, 1,508 or 42 percent were Chinese, according to a report submitted by BI Port Operations Division (POD) chief Grifton Medina to Commissioner Jaime Morente. 

Also barred were 262 Indians, 151 Americans and 138 Koreans.

Medina said that nearly 3,000 were turned away from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) while the rest were intercepted at the airports of Mactan, Clark, Kalibo, Aklan and Davao.

“These aliens were turned back after the conduct of secondary inspection by our immigration officers. They were properly assessed and thereafter were found to be unfit for admission into our country,” Medina said in a statement.

Among them were registered sex offenders, wanted fugitives, suspected international terrorists, blacklisted foreigners and previously deported aliens who tried to re-enter the country.

Statistics also show that about three-fourths of the excluded aliens were seen as public charges or persons without a visible means of support and whose purpose in coming here was suspect.

 Among those who were turned back were foreigners who were rude and disrespectful towards immigration officers. 

Morente commended the BI-POD personnel for thwarting the entry of undesirable aliens even as he exhorted them to remain vigilant in discharging their duties as border control officers of the country.  – With Rudy Santos