Thursday, August 09, 2007 4 Japanese nationals voluntarily leave RP
THE four Japanese nationals arrested for filming a sex video on an islet at the Hilutungan channel were deported to Japan yesterday morning, said Bureau of Immigration (BI) 7 Director Geronimo Rosas.
Yokomizo Masashi, Takimoto Yoichiro, Izuno Ihirwaki, and Miyawaki Yuki agreed to go on a voluntary deportation and took a plane back to Narita, Japan.
“For sure, they cannot come back to the Philippines, especially in Cebu because their names are already in the blacklist” Rosas said.
He added that even if the four will return using different names, they can hardly pass the immigration counter because their pictures have been encoded in the BI office computers.
The four chose to leave voluntarily than go through the normal process of deportation, which involves conducting a hearing.
Their departure came as the Cebu City Council passed a resolution condemning “in the strongest terms” the scandal that the four Japanese nationals embroiled themselves in.
Upon the motion of Councilor Arsenio Pacaña, the council urged Reps. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north) and Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south) to sponsor a bill amending Chapter 2 of the Revised Penal Code.
It asked that penalties stipulated in the said provision, which sanctions offenses against decency and good customs, be increased.
“(This is) to protect the country’s tourism image from repeated violations by tourists who may take advantage thereof, due to the very light penalty imposed for such offenses,” the council said.
Pacaña said the act has caused “uproar among the largely conservative Cebuanos for offending the sensibilities of the local community.”
He considered it “unfortunate” that after pleading guilty of violation Article 201 of the Code, the Japanese nationals were just fined with P6,000 each, “which is the lowest and lightest of the penalty range.”
The council said that although tourism officials said that it was an isolated incident, it should serve as a wake-up call for authorities and the local community.
Police charged them for violating Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code.
They guilty and paid a fine of P6,000 each. (EOB/RHM)
