Cases of misrepresentation alarm BI
The BI chief added that apparently she wanted to evade her overstaying penalties, so she resorted to misrepresenting herself as a Filipino.
Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco has expressed concern over recent interceptions of foreign nationals misrepresenting themselves as Filipino citizens.
Tansingco made the remark after two more cases of misrepresentation were recorded by the BI Travel Control and Enforcement Unit this month at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
On 17 January, the BI officer at NAIA Terminal 3 apprehended a 35-year-old woman identified as Nong Thi Luyen, who attempted to depart the country via a Cebu Pacific flight bound for Saigon using a fake Philippine passport. Earlier, a Hong Kong-Canadian national was nabbed after allegedly misrepresenting himself as a Filipino.
Nong, who initially presented a Philippine passport bearing a Philippine name, raised the suspicion of immigration officers when she was unable to answer basic details about her identity.
Commissioner Tansingco said that the passenger later admitted during the secondary inspection that she is Vietnamese and that she last arrived in the country almost two decades ago.
The BI chief added that apparently she wanted to evade her overstaying penalties, so she resorted to misrepresenting herself as a Filipino.
Investigation further revealed that the Philippine passport she presented belonged to someone else.
Last 23 January the BI at NAIA Terminal 1 also intercepted a 36-year-old male who identified as Hailan Zhang, who also attempted to depart the country via a
Thai Airways flight bound for Hanoi.
Hailan also presented a Philippine passport and carried identification cards and permits, claiming he was a businessman in the country.
However, the officers noted numerous inconsistencies in his statements. He later admitted his real identity. The BI’s forensic documents laboratory also certified that while his Philippine passport is genuine, it bore a fake BI departure stamp.
Both Nong and Hailan were charged with violations of the Philippine Immigration Act and will remain at the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City pending their deportation proceedings.