Name discrepancy stalls poachers’ deportation

Due to the discrepancy in their names, the deportation of 12 Chinese pangolin poachers who were arrested in Palawan almost four years ago has been stalled, the Bureau of Immigration said over the weekend.

BI spokesperson Antonette Mangrobang said on Saturday the deportation order issued against the 12 Chinese men could not be implemented immediately.

The fishermen were alleg- edly caught poaching in Tubbataha Reefs and Natural Park in April 2013.

Mangrobang said she could not ascertain how many of the names have discrepancies since the poachers’ cases were merely referred to the BI and they were not placed under the agency’s custody.

To determine the identities of the Chinese men, Mangrobang said the BI coordinated with the Chinese embassy.

“The embassy is helping identify the poachers so it can issue travel documents for them,” Mangrobang said.

She said the embassy could help speed up the identification process for the 12 foreigners.

The 12 have been discharged from the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

The Court of Appeals (CA) allowed the Chinese to be deported after it nullified a guilty verdict handed down by a Palawan court.

The CA said the Chinese men were not caught in the act of fishing in Tubbataha.

The fishermen’s vessel had run aground, prompting Philippine authorities to inspect it.

During inspection, authorities found at least 20,000 pounds of pangolin meat, which they believed were caught in Palawan.