9 undocumented Chinese miners arrested in upland town in Sultan Kudarat

COTABATO CITY —Nine Chinese men working without permits at a small mining company in Barangay Chua, Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat, were apprehended last week in a joint operation by the Bureau of Immigration and the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion.

Officials from the Army’s 603rd Infantry Brigade and its parent unit, the 6th Infantry Division, told reporters on Sunday, April 20, that the foreign nationals, who possessed passports but lacked valid work permits, had violated the Philippine Immigration Act.

Brig. Gen. Michael Santos, commander of the 603rd Brigade, said they initially withheld media reports on the arrest of the nine Chinese miners, one of whom is from Hong Kong, to allow the Bureau of Immigration ample time to verify their identities and investigate how they were hired by Helen Grace S. Camsa Precious Metal Mining Company in Barangay Chua, Bagumbayan.

Santos told reporters that the operation, which led to the arrest of the nine Chinese nationals, was jointly conducted by Bureau of Immigration (BI) personnel and troops from the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion, led by Lt. Col. Tristan Rey Vallescas. The miners were reportedly hired by a company exploring for copper and gold in the hinterlands of Bagumbayan.

According to Santos, the BI immediately took custody of the detained foreigners.