BI says 135 alien fugitives nabbed in 2016

A total of 135 foreign fugitives were arrested by Bureau of Immigration (BI) agents in the country last year.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente reported that the figure was more than double the 61 wanted foreign nationals arrested in 2015.

According to the bureau’s fugitive search unit (FSU), among the captured criminals are South Koreans, 80; Chinese, 25; and Americans, 19.

Also included in the list are three Taiwanese, two Canadians, an Australian, a Japanese, a German, a Pakistani, a Bangladeshi, and a Kazakhstani.

Three of them were charged with murder while others were involved either in smuggling, human trafficking, aggravated assault, drug pushing, and desertion.

BI intelligence officer Bobby Raquepo, FSU acting chief, said 86 of the aliens were subjects of mission orders; 37 were issued deportation warrants by the bureau’s board of commissioners; seven were intercepted at the airports; and five voluntarily surrendered.

On the other hand, the BI chief noted that nearly all of the fugitives arrested were already deported to their countries of origin where they are now serving their sentences or are being tried for various offenses.

“They were also placed in our blacklist to prevent them from re-entering the country,” Morente said in a statement.

He vowed to relentlessly pursue its campaign against foreign fugitives.

“The Philippines should not be used as a sanctuary for foreign criminals who want to evade prosecution and punishment for crimes they committed in their homeland,” he said.