BI chief questions release of 22 Chinese

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Siegfred Mison ordered yesterday an internal investigation of the release of 22 Chinese arrested for working without permits in Pasay City earlier this month.

“He has ordered the concerned officers to submit a written explanation on the discrepancies in the number of apprehended subjects,” BI spokesperson Elaine Tan said.

A total of 191 foreigners – Chinese, Taiwanese and Indonesians – were caught in the act of working for a call center firm allegedly used as a front for an online gambling operation during a raid on July 21.

However, only 169 of the foreigners were brought to the BI main office for inquest, Tan said.

Twenty-one of the 191 foreigners were released without authorization after they reportedly claimed to have Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) special visas while one remains missing, she said.

Tan said possession of a CEZA visa “does not automatically absolve the holder of any liability under immigration laws.”

During the investigation, 14 more foreigners were released from custody after presenting valid work visas, bringing the foreigners in the BI’s custody down to 155.

They were charged for working without permits and later transferred to the BI’s holding facility in Bicutan and the Philippine Immigration Academy in Clark, Pampanga pending deportation proceedings.