Philippine Immigration

More foreigners arriving in RP amid global crisis - BI

2008-10-10T16:24:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines - More foreigners arrived in the Philippines during the month of September amid the financial crunch that continues to rock the world markets, the immigration chief said Thursday.

At the same time, Bureau of Immigration data showed that the number of foreigners arriving from January to end of September this year is higher by eight percent compared to figures during the same period in 2007.

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BI: September foreign visitors up 8%

2008-10-10T16:21:00.001+08:00

MANILA, Philippines -- The Bureau of Immigration on Thursday said the number of foreigners who arrived in the country in September was eight percent more than the number in the same month last year.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said 384,948 foreigners entered the country through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and other ports of entry last month, compared to the 356,760 in the same period last year.

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Quick deportations decongest BI jail

2008-10-10T16:20:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Immigration said Tuesday that only 67 aliens remain in the agency’s jail in Bicutan, Taguig City.

In a statement sent to media, Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said the number of inmates dropped to its lowest as of Sept. 30 owing largely to the bureau’s policy of immediately deporting foreigners arrested for violating Philippine immigration laws.

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BI nabs German wanted for computer fraud

2008-09-30T13:11:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines -- The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has arrested a German wanted in his country for massive computer fraud that victimized thousands of investors.

BI commissioner Marcelino Libanan said Peter Uwe Muller was arrested Friday by personnel of the bureau’s law enforcement division in his home at Sandico Street, Diamond Subdivision, Barangay Balibago, Angeles City, Pampanga.

He is detained at the Bicutan immigration jail.

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Immigration officer sacked over human smuggling attempt

2008-09-18T23:47:00.001+08:00

MANILA, Philippines -- Bureau of Immigration (BI) commissioner Marcelino Libanan relieved on Thursday an officer of the agency at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) for her alleged involvement in Wednesday’s foiled departure of 17 undocumented contract workers to the Middle East.

Libanan issued an order recalling immigration officer Mindaya Ombawa to the BI main office in Intramuros pending investigation of her alleged involvement in facilitating the attempted departure of the workers, all said to be minors bound for Jordan and Syria.

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15 ‘tourist workers’ with spurious travel documents caught in NAIA-3

2008-09-17T14:23:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines - Government agents intercepted at least 15 "tourist workers" caught with spurious passports at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 early Wednesday morning.

Radio dzBB's Denver Trinidad reported that the workers included several minors, and had passports that were allegedly tampered or "manufactured."

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Immigration deports foreign swindler in Davao City

2008-09-17T14:20:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines -- The Bureau of Immigration has deported a foreigner arrested for alleged swindling in Davao City two years ago, Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said.

Masahiro Tashima, 47, and identified as a Japanese national was deported after a two-year-old case against him before the Lapu-Lapu City regional trial court was dismissed, Libanan said.

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BI’s last resort vs trafficking: Warn would-be illegal OFWs

2008-09-17T14:18:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Immigration has set up what it calls its “last line of defense” against the trafficking of overseas Filipino workers.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan, in a statement, said the bureau’s agents stationed at airports and sea ports, who have little or no evidence to detain suspected “tourist-workers,” would instead brief them on the hazards faced by undocumented workers in foreign countries.

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2 Malaysians linked to human trafficking deported

2008-09-17T14:17:00.000+08:00

Two Malaysians arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) three months ago have been deported for involvement in human trafficking, the Bureau of Immigration said Monday.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said Balagobal Kannataasan, 26, and Harisan Amirtham, 34, were deported last September 11 aboard a Malaysian Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur.

Libanan said the Malaysians were expelled pursuant to a summary deportation order that the BI board of commissioners issued against them last August 26.

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Immigration bureau may exceed 2008 revenue target

2008-09-17T14:16:00.001+08:00

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration is nearing its revenue target for 2008, and is poised to register a new record high income, according to BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan.

In a statement released on Saturday, Libanan said that from January to end of August the bureau had already collected P1.43 billion in immigration fees.

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BI opens satellite offices

2008-09-12T13:03:00.000+08:00

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has opened two new satellite offices outside Metro Manila, making its services more accessible to foreigners living in nearby provinces.

No less than BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan led the inauguration of the new satellite offices in Taytay, Rizal and Sta. Rosa, Laguna, which could provide the same assistance and services offered by the agency’s main office in Intramuros, Manila.

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Foreign office, immigration branch out to the provinces

2008-09-12T13:02:00.000+08:00

SATELLITE offices of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Bureau of Immigration will be established in key cities nationwide to bring their services more accessible to those living outside Metro Manila.

In Executive Order 748, President Arroyo ordered the creation of regional offices of the department in Bacolod City, Butuan City, Puerto Princesa City, Baguio City, General Santos City, and Cotabato City which will process and issue passports and extend other consular services not just for Filipinos but also foreigners as well.

Regional consular offices will be headed by a ranking officer and will be manned by “home-based personnel and locally-hired employees,” the President said in the executive order.

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Bureau of Immigration opens office in Taytay

2008-09-12T13:00:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration now has a satellite office in Taytay town in Rizal province as part of its decentralization program to make its offices accessible to foreigners outside of Metro Manila.

The office, which was inaugurated on Wednesday by Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan and Mayor George Ricardo Gacula, is at the old Taytay Town Hall at the corner of Rizal Avenue and Kadalagahan Street in Barangay Dolores.

"This office is an important milestone in our bureau's history as foreigners living in the province of Rizal need no longer to travel to Manila to have their documents processed," Libanan said.

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BI to deport convicted British pedophile

2008-09-09T13:46:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration is set to deport a convicted British pedophile who is wanted in his country.

Immigration Commissioner Mercelino Libanan identified the suspect as Kriss McCord, who has been convicted by a British magistrate for three counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault nine years ago.

The Immigration commissioner said the suspect will be expelled back to his country pursuant to a summary deportation order the Board of Commissioners issued against him last February.

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15 foreigners deported as BI decongests Bicutan jail

2008-09-04T09:46:00.000+08:00

Fifteen foreigners had been deported last August as part of the government’s move to decongest the Immigration detention cell in Bicutan, Taguig City.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said among those deported were the nine Vietnamese fishermen who were arrested last year for poaching on Philippine waters.

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BI has beefed up its task force processing thousands of Filipinos deported from Sabah

2008-09-02T11:18:00.000+08:00

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has beefed up the members of its task force assigned to process the thousands of Filipinos who are being deported from Sabah to Mindanao as an offshoot of Malaysia’s ongoing crackdown against undocumented aliens.

BI Commissioner Marcelino C. Libanan assigned three more immigration officers to the task force upon recommendation of task force head Jose Carandang, who reported that there are still an estimated 10,000 Filipinos currently awaiting deportation in Sabah. The task force, which now has seven members, was formed by Libanan a month ago at the request of Mayor Celso Lobregat of Zamboanga City where the ship carrying the deportees used to arrive.

It was learned that Carandang sought the fielding of more personnel to the task force after the ship MV Danica Joy that previously transports the deportess from Sabah to Zamboanga suspended its operation.

Unlike the MV Danica Joy, the fast craft Weesam Expresss that currently picks the deportees stops first at the port in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi and then in Jolo, Sulu before going to Zamboanga.

Thus, the deportees are now processed by the task force at the Bongao port, the ship’s first destination after leaving Sabah.

Carandang said an average of 400 to 500 Filipinos are being deported from Sabah every week as the ship, which sails twice a week, can carry only a maximum of about 240 passengers.

He disclosed that a little over a thousand deportees were processed by the task force since it was created a month ago.

Carandang said the task force is still months away from completing its job as there are still more than 10,000 undocumented Filipinos presently detained in Sabah as a result of their arrest by Malaysian immigration authorities.

Most of the deportees, he said, had worked as domestic helpers, factory workers or market vendors in Malaysia without the proper documents. (BI News)

3 Indians to be deported for molesting woman, carrying fake papers

2008-09-02T11:17:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines – Three Indians have been detained pending summary deportation for molesting a 31-year-old woman in Quezon City last week and for carrying fake immigration papers, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Monday.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan named the three Indians as Kulvinder Singh, 30; Hardawinder Singh, 26; and Amarjir Singh 21.

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BI nabs 3 Indians accused of molesting Filipina

2008-09-02T11:15:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines -- The Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested three Indian nationals accused of molesting a 31-year old Filipina.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said Kulvinder Singh, 30, Hardawinder Singh, 26, and Amarjir Singh, 21, are undergoing deportation proceedings for being undesirable aliens and using spurious immigration documents.

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New investor’s visa to create 100,000 new jobs – Libanan

2008-08-28T11:56:00.000+08:00

At least 100,000 new jobs will be created as a result of the proposed new visa for foreign investors, Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan announced yesterday.

The new visa scheme allows indefinite stay in the country for foreign investors who will employ at least 10 Filipinos in viable and sustainable businesses in the Philippines.

Libanan said the proposed new indefinite stay visa, dubbed the "job-generating visa," will be based on actual jobs created by a foreigner’s investments in the Philippines, instead of on his or her supposed capital deposited in the Philippine banking system.

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Investor visa seen to create jobs for Filipinos

2008-08-28T11:55:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines—With a proposed new visa for foreign investors, more Filipinos would be able to stay in the country instead of having to go abroad to look for work.

In a consultation with the private sector, Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said the proposed grant of indefinite stay visas to foreigners who employ Filipinos was “a solution to the continued migration of our countrymen.”

The proposed visa would be given to a foreigner who employs at least 10 Filipinos in a local enterprise.

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New investor’s visa proposed

2008-08-26T11:16:00.000+08:00

THE Bureau of Immigration is pushing for a new visa that will allow foreign investors in specified businesses to stay indefinitely as long as they provide employment for at least 10 Filipinos.

Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said the implementing guidelines for the special non-immigrant visa was finalized following a series of public hearings at the bureau’s Manila office attended by different foreign chambers.

“This program is our contribution to the efforts of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to generate more jobs for our countrymen and spur the growth of investments and businesses in our country,” the Immigration chief said.

Continue on Manila Standard Today

Japanese to be deported for working sans permit

2008-08-21T13:35:00.000+08:00

An overstaying Japanese tourist is now behind bars and facing deportation after he was arrested by Bureau of Immigration (BI) operatives for working in the country without a permit.

Arrested last Wednesday on the strength of a mission order issued by BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan was Masaaki Hashimoto, 40, who is presently detained at the Bicutan immigration jail. Libanan said Hashimoto, who was arrested in his workplace at the 7th floor of the Magsaysay Bldg. along Roxas Blvd., Manila, is undergoing deportation proceedings for overstaying and illegally working in the country.

“He violated the conditions of his stay by not extending his tourist visa for more than three years and for engaging in gainful employment without the required work permit and visa,” Libanan said.

The immigration act forbids foreigners from working here without first securing a work permit from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and a pre-arranged employment visa from the BI.

Libanan said illegally working foreigners prejudices the interest of Filipino workers who are equally qualified for the jobs performed by said foreigners.

BI-law enforcement division acting chief Wilfredo Poquez disclosed that Hashimoto worked as a business development officer for the Atlantic Globe Movers Inc.,

He said the arresting agents caught the Japanese in the act of performing his job while seated at his office desk.

“We also seized several documents proving that he is indeed in the company’s employ as its business development officer,” Poquez added.

A check of the BI’s travel information records also showed that the Hashimoto’s tourist visa expired on July 21, 2005 and he never bothered to extend or update his stay in the country. (BI News)

22 overstaying detainees deported

2008-08-21T13:34:00.000+08:00

‘BI detention center not a boarding house for foreigners’—Libanan

A number of foreigners would rather stay in detention in the Philippines than be sent back to their home countries. But the Bureau of Immigration will not allow this, the reason a Belgian national was deported last month, together with 21 others. Lucas Saeran, a Belgian national, has practically made the BI detention center in Bicutan, Taguig City his home, having stayed in the center for the last five years. He was in detention for being an overstaying and undocumented foreigner.

BI Commissioner Marcelino C. Libanan ordered the deportation of Saeran and several others who had been in detention for over a year, saying the detention center is no boarding house for foreigners.

Records at the BI jail show that the number of detainees has gone down from a high of 160 when Libanan took office last year to only 72 detainees last month. For bringing down the population in the center, the BI was cited by the Commission on Audit for outstanding use of government resources after a value for money audit.

Even Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez has commended Libanan for successfully decongesting the Bicutan jail. “We need more people of your caliber in government who can produce positive results,” Gonzales said in his July 25, 2008 letter congratulating Libanan for a job well done.

BI Chief of Staff, Lawyer Norman Tansingco said the case of Saeran is not unsual, adding that some foreigners would rather want to stay in the center and be with their family in the Philippines.

“Their Filipino family is their only family. Many of them think they have nothing to return to in their home country,” Tansingco said, in citing the reason why these foreign nationals would rather stay in detention, adding that some others though fear returning to their home country as they have pending criminal cases their own country.

Libanan, however, will not allow overstay of foreigners in detention as this results in unreasonable spending by the government, the reason he moved for decongestion of the BI detention center as the cost of keeping detainees was a big drain to the BI budget.

Libanan ordered the BI legal division to expedite the resolution of cases of the foreigners. Aside from Saeran, other illegal foreigners whose cases were given immediate attention were Chinese women suspected of prostitution and fugitives; and American Timothy Leonard Lantz, an alleged pedophile and convicted sex offender in Ohio. (BI News)

51,000 expats obtain dual citizenship

2008-08-21T08:44:00.000+08:00

AT least 51,000 expatriates have reacquired their Philippine citizenship under the Dual Citizenship Law, which took effect four years ago, Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said yesterday.

Libanan, a former congressman who was one of the authors of the law, directed an eight-member task force to expedite the processing of applications.

Task force head Arvin Santos said an applicant needs only to pay a processing fee of P3,000 and his or her application will be processed immediately if all the required documents have been submitted.

Continue on Manila Standard Today

Cellphone signal jammers installed in NAIA-3 to prevent human trafficking

2008-08-13T10:26:00.000+08:00

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