THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) said its officers in the different ports of entry nationwide barred from entering the Philippines last year more than 3,300 foreigners who were deemed undesirable or not properly documented and thus unfit to be admitted into the country.
In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco disclosed that a total of 3,359 foreigners of varying nationalities were excluded in 2023, most of whom arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Tansingco said that except for those who were denied entry due to minor infractions, such as failure to secure entry visas or procure return tickets, the rest of the aliens who were turned back were blacklisted and banned from entering the country for being undesirable aliens.
According to the BI chief, the bulk of the excluded aliens were refused admission after they were deemed as likely to become public charges if they are allowed to stay here.
In immigration parlance, a public charge pertains to an alien whose presence here poses a menace to society or a burden to the government from whom he could depend for subsistence or support while sojourning in the country.
“As gatekeepers of our country, our officers are duty-bound to see to it that only aliens with legitimate purpose of travel are accorded the privilege to visit the country. Illegal aliens and fugitives are not welcome in the Philippines,” Tansingco stressed.
BI records show that apart from public charges and improperly documented aliens, the list of excluded passengers also include aliens who were already blacklisted, registered sex offenders (RSOs), wanted fugitives, and those who were rude and disrespectful towards BI officers.
Statistics also show that NAIA 3 accounted for the bulk of the excluded aliens who totaled 1,603, followed by NAIA 1, NAIA 2, Mactan, and Clark with 1,157, 211, 187, and 143 exclusions, respectively.
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