At least 242 foreign nationals were barred from entering the country after immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport ascertained that they will illegally work in the country, as they have no itinerary or hotel bookings and funds to support their stay here.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the 242 foreign nationals were intercepted last week, mostly Chinese, Cambodians, Vietnamese, Indonesians, Myanmars and Malaysians.
BI Intelligence Chief Fortunato Manahan, Jr., said they noticed an attempt of suspected illegal workers to use other ports of entry to come to the Philippines.
“We see this as a cause for concern. Our frontliners will heighten our efforts in screening these aliens. We are in close coordination with our foreign counterparts in ensuring that no aliens with bad records enter the country. But if they are already in the country before we receive information about their crimes, we will immediately send them out,” Manahan said.
Meanwhile, Morente vowed to expand the probe on the alleged pastillas scheme, following statements from whistleblower Allison Chiong that the said modus reportedly continued to operate “until recently.”
“I have ordered all NAIA heads replaced, and reshuffled all frontline personnel to break any possible collusion among them, this revamp affected around 800 officers,” said Morente.
“We have likewise placed the Travel Control and Enforcement Unit and the Border Control and Investigation Unit under the control and supervision of the Intelligence Division to serve as an external check and balance to monitor airport operations,” he added.
Morente warned that those who will be proven to be part of the alleged scheme will face both administrative and criminal cases.