An 84-year-old Australian professor was barred from entering the country when he landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last Thursday night because he was listed in the bureau’s Black Order for participating in political rallies in 2015.
Gill Hale Boehringer was still being held at the Naia’s dayroom after a doctor advised immigration officers that he could not leave the country yet as the elderly professor is not fit to travel.
Boehringer arrived in Manila past midnight at the Naia Terminal 1 from Guangzhou, China.
“He was excluded for being blacklisted. Boehringer was the subject of an order issued last year prohibiting Boehringer’s entry upon receipt of a report and recommendation for blacklisting from government intelligence sources,” BI spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval said.
Boehringer reportedly participated in a rally in November 2015 which is “in clear violation of the BI Operations Order prohibiting foreigners in engaging in political activities in the Philippines.”
But Sandoval clarified BI’s policy on blacklisting of foreign nationals, saying foreigners may be included in the blacklist “in the interest of public safety.”
She said they receive information on foreign nationals through various sources, including other government agencies and foreign counterparts “to ensure that no undesirable alien enter or remain in the country,” and that they immediately take action on reports on foreign nationals violating immigration laws.
Foreign nationals found to possess grounds for undesirability when in the country will be deported. However, if the foreigner is outside the country, the process is summary, and he is immediately included in the BI’s blacklist.
“Inclusion in the blacklist means that the subject is a threat to public order and safety, and blacklisting minimizes that risk,” Sandoval said.
She added that foreigners are afforded due process by allowing them to file a request for lifting to the Immigration commissioner.
“If he submits sufficient proof to reverse the blacklist, it may be lifted accordingly,” Sandoval said.
In 2014, nine foreign journalists were also similarly included in the blacklist for heckling then President Benigno Aquino III.
The blacklist, however, is being questioned by lawyers of the Australian-American professor and human rights advocate.
In a letter to Morente on Thursday, the National Union of People's Lawyers asked the BI chief to recall the ban on Boehringer.
Boehringer, who is married to a Filipina, has been held at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport since his arrival from Guangzhou, China midnight of Wednesday.
The letter said Boehringer, a former law school head at a Sydney university, has had a history of an "almost fatal" pulmonary embolism, is "at risk" of having deep vein thrombosis, and is suffering from cellulitis on both legs, which had swelled.
Dr. Geneve Rivera-Reyes, who examined him, recommended that he be checked by a medical specialist.
"For humanitarian considerations, we pray that Mr. Boehringer's exclusion order be immediately recalled so he can be checked by a doctor and recuperate until he is fit to travel back home," it said.
Boehringer's lawyers said they will face the case once they get hold of the documents with regards to the ban.
Sandoval, however, said the professor's flight out of the country would push through if Morente does not approve of the NUPL's request before the scheduled departure.
