THE Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) intelligence division apprehended multiple foreign nationals in separate operations for misrepresentation, undesirability, and for being undocumented.
On February 20, BI operatives implemented a mission order against Chinese national Li Jiafu, 35, at a commercial building in Bacoor, Cavite.
Li, who uses the alias Li Charlie Sevilla was found to be carrying Philippine documents including a birth certificate and passport.
“The documents allow him to misrepresent himself as a Filipino citizen,” said BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado. “Our operatives found inconsistencies in his documents. He had a Philippine passport that showed that he was born in Quezon City, while also holding a Chinese passport showing that he was born in Liaoning, China,” he added.
Viado said that the illegal acquisition of Philippine documents by foreign nationals poses a significant threat to national security.
Along with Li, three other Chinese nationals with working visas were also taken into BI custody after being caught in the act working for a different company other than the petitioner of their visas.
In another operation on the same day, BI intelligence operatives arrested Malaysian national Gwee Seng Yong at a condominium in Makati City, in coordination with the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Office of the Special Envoy on Transnational Crime (OSETC).
BI operatives confirmed that Gwee was an undocumented foreign national and attempted to verify his identity and travel documents. However, he failed to present a passport or any valid document, leading to his arrest.
He was also found to be overstaying, with an existing blacklist order. PNP-CIDG also shared intelligence information that Gwee is involved in money laundering activities using e-wallet platforms, making him an undesirable alien.
“Foreign nationals who undermine the country’s immigration laws will be arrested and deported,” warned Viado.
Those arrested were brought to the BI’s facility inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig pending the resolution of their deportation proceedings
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