IMMIGRATION agents arrested an American beach resort owner in Boracay, Aklan for working without permit, barely a day before the government effected the temporary closure of one of the country’s top tourist destinations.
Nabbed was identified as Randall Lee Parker—US hometown not immediately available—who was caught by the bureau’s intelligence operatives inside the premises of The Artienda at Station Two, formerly known as Crown Beach Hotel in Boracay.
Immigration commissioner Jaime Morente said he issued a mission order for Parker’s arrest after a complaint was filed with the BI about his business activities in running the resort without the appropriate work permit or visa.
“He will undergo deportation proceedings for illegally working in the country,” the BI chief said, adding both the Labor Code and the Immigration Act strictly forbids aliens from engaging in gainful activity unless they obtain a work permit from the labor department and employment visa from the BI.
Morente also revealed that Parker had been in the Philippines as a tourist for almost two years already and that by engaging in gainful work he blatantly violated the conditions of his stay as a temporary visitor.
Lawyer Antonette Bucasas-Mangrobang, BI spokesperson, disclosed that a check of the bureau’s travel records showed that the American arrived in the country on April 16, 2016 and had not departed ever since.
Mangrobang said Parker, whose stay as a tourist was extended up to June 14 this year, had been going in and out of the country since 2005.
According to Mangrobang, existing laws that regulated the employment of aliens in the country were intended to ensure that their activities in the country were consistent with their immigration documentation.
“The rule is that aliens holding tourist visas are not allowed to engage in any form of gainful employment or business activity,” she added.