Bureau of Immigration operatives arrested 50 Chinese nationals illegally working as laborers or office workers in Maasim, Sarangani.
According to the BI, the aliens have been the subject of a case build up by the agency’s Mindanao Intelligence Task Group (BI-MITG) which is in charge of monitoring the movement of illegal foreigners in the country’s southern region.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the Chinese nationals were caught working for a steel company in the area.
“Our operatives received information from concerned citizens regarding the presence of aliens in the region. Our MITG conducted surveillance and found out that there were aliens working in manual labor,” he said.
The illegal aliens secured work permits from the BI in March, but upon surveillance were found to have misrepresented themselves during their application.
“These aliens presented themselves as skilled servicemen that would conduct short-time work in the company. However, when we conducted an audit, we confirmed that they falsified their documents and misrepresented themselves,” Morente said.
During the arrest, 31 of the 50 Chinese nationals were found to be conducting manual labor, while 18 were found to have been engaged in work inconsistent with their permit.
“Of those arrested, only one was able to present proper documentation as he is a permanent resident in the country. The rest of the 49 will be charged for violation of the Philippine Immigration Act,” Morente said.
