Friday, January 12, 2007 Immigration puts pressure on foreign demonstrators
ALL the top officials of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in Manila are here in Cebu to supervise operations during the Southeast Asian leaders’ summit this weekend.
BI 7 Director Geronimo Rosas identified them as Commissioner Alipio F. Fernandez, lawyer Benjamin Kalaw, Legal Division chief; lawyer Gary Mendoza, Immigration Regulations Division chief; Enrique Galang, executive director; and Faizal Hussein, Intelligence Division chief.
Rosas said Fernandez has created a task force headed by lawyer Arvin Santos, who will investigate any foreigner who is the subject of a complaint for participating in anti-government demonstrations.
Because a task force of inquest officers exists, Rosas said a foreigner who violates Philippine immigration laws may be deported outright.
“The task force will handle the inquest investigation against foreigners with the assistance of the prosecutors in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu,” Rosas said.
Rosas has urged foreigners to refrain from participating in anti-government activities.
Casimiro Madarang III, immigration supervisor at Mactan-Cebu International Airport, said that at least 20 intelligence officers are deployed all over Metro Cebu to monitor the movement of foreigners during the meeting of Asean leaders.
There are more than 100 foreigners blacklisted for their alleged involvement in anti-government rallies, they will be barred from Cebu, he said.
Immigration personnel are assigned at Mactan airport 24 hours a day during the summit.
Rosas said that because they already conducted background checks on the delegates and their staff, the protocol officer will just collect their travel documents and have these stamped by immigration officers assigned at VIP and Most Important Persons (MIP) lounges.
The heads of state and government will be led directly to the MIP lounge before they will be brought to their hotels in a convoy. (EOB)
