43 illegal POGO workers deported

Forty-three Chinese nationals involved in illicit gambling were successfully deported by the Bureau of Immigration Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.

The deportees, according to the BI, were among the more than 100 foreign nationals who had previously been detained by the Women and Children Protection Center of the Philippine National Police and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime following the execution of a search warrant issued by the

Makati Regional Trial Court for alleged violations of RA 9208 and RA 10364, or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.

The PAOCC and the PNP-WCPC discovered that the said foreign nationals were working for an establishment that engages in human trafficking activities.

The BI added that due to this, they were found to have violated the terms and conditions of their visas and are considered threats to the public interest.

The deportees were boarded on a Philippine Airlines flight bound for Shanghai at NAIA

Terminal 1.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that as a consequence of their deportation, the names of the Chinese nationals have been included in the BI’s blacklist, and they are barred from entering the country in the future.

“We are working closely with other government agencies to rid the country of such undesirable aliens who abuse our hospitality and stay here doing their illegal activities,” Tansingco said.

He further encouraged concerned citizens to report illegal aliens that might be conducting illicit activities in their area.