Thursday, April 10, 2008
Japanese found guilty as undesirable alien
THE Japanese national who punched the daughter of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has been found guilty of being an undesirable alien, the Bureau of Immig-ration’s (BI) legal department ruled.
With this, Isao Tanaka was set to be deported last night or anytime today, said BI 7 Director Geronimo Rosas.
Tanaka, 65, will also be blacklisted and will never be allowed to come back to the Philippines.
Rosas said the blacklisting can only be lifted if Tanaka will apologize to lawyer Ma. Esperanza Christina Garcia Codilla and if she accepts the apology.
The guilty plea came as Codilla filed charges against Tanaka for unlawful and criminal conduct and for violating a provision of the immigration law, specifically on the condition of his temporary stay in the country.
In her one-page complaint affidavit, Codilla narrated that while waiting for her luggage at the carousel area at the Manila Domestic Airport, a person behind her approached and told her that she should not have placed her pushcart in front of the carousel.
“Suddenly, (Tanaka) punched me, hitting hard my back. I was shocked about it and immediately asked him why he punched me. Then he replied: “Then you can punch me back,” said Codilla.
She said she immediately sought the help of airport police, who arrested Tanaka.
Codilla attached to her complaint a copy of Tanaka’s passport and the result of the medico-legal examination showing she got hematoma on her back.
Codilla also attached the affidavit of witness Exuperio Bajarias Jr. Barangay Tayud, Consolacion.
Bajarias, who was on the same flight, said that while he and Codilla were waiting for their luggage at the conveyor belt, a man from behind Codilla punched her.
Bajarias said that Codilla asked Tanaka why he punched her, but the latter replied, “If you want, you can hit me back.”
Codilla, he added, asked Tanaka what was his name because she would be filing a complaint, but Tanaka retorted: “Go ahead, I have some friends here at the airport.”
After which, Bajarias said he accompanied Codilla at the help desk of the airport police and reported the incident.
In a separate interview, Codilla countered Tanaka’s claim that he did not actually punch her but only tapped her on the back, which he said was a tradition of the Japanese when trying to convince somebody.
“I think this is not so much of the tradition as it is a matter of human decency.
In a civilized country, one simply does not go around punching people without provocation in order to convince. I would like to emphasize that I did nothing to provoke Mr. Tanaka, which is why his blow to my back was shocking to me.
This is a senseless act of violence and Tanaka insults his own people by his cowardly act of hiding behind a supposed tradition,” Codilla told Sun.Star Cebu in a text message. (EOB/GMD)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 10, 2008 issue)
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