4 Chinese with fake documents barred from leaving

FOUR departing Chinese nationals caught with spurious travel documents were barred from leaving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Tuesday.

Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said the aliens were about to leave via a China Southern Airlines flight to Xiamen, China when intercepted at the airport’s boarding gate.

The passengers, identified as Chen Yuan, Cai Ying Jie, He Mingbao, Zhan Weiquan, are now detained at the BI jail in Bicutan, Taguig pending deportation proceedings.

David said it appeared from initial investigation that the aliens were victimized by the travel agents or fixers who, they claimed, were responsible for giving them fake and tampered documents.

He said the aliens had questionable visa extension stamps on their passports and their emigration clearance certificates (ECCs) were tampered.

Under existing laws, tourists departing from the Philippines must have updated their stay and paid the necessary visa extension fees. Tourists who stayed here for more than six months should secure their ECCs from the BI.

“Again, we warn foreigners not to deal with unscrupulous individuals who defraud not only their victims but also the government which is deprived of much needed revenues,” the BI chief said.

According to lawyer Ma. Antonette Mangrobang, BI acting intelligence chief, the aliens also admitted during questioning that they have been overstaying and illegally working in the country.

“Two of them said they worked as warehousemen while the two others said they as sellers of garments and merchandise,” Mangrobang said, adding it was their employers who allegedly engaged the services of the travel agents that processed their documents.

The immigration act punishes with summary deportation aliens caught using spurious immigration documents, said Mangrobang. (SDR/Sunnex)