BI declares war on passport syndicate

October 15 ------ THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has declared war against a syndicate supplying fraudulently acquired but authentic Philippine passports to illegal foreign nationals. Immigration spokesman Dana Sandoval said on Thursday that aside from passports, foreign nationals were also able to acquire other Philippine documents such as national IDs, birth certificates, driver's licenses and postal IDs. "We have already forwarded this to the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) as well as to the issuing authority for a thorough and deeper investigation," Sandoval said in a TV interview. "It's really high time for a shakedown against the syndicate who is part of this, whether in the government or from the private sector."

BI records showed that there were at least 10 recent cases of authentic Philippine passports used by illegal aliens. In April, the BI reported the case of Danny Wong, who attempted to depart for Cambodia, claiming that he was of Chinese-Korean-Filipino lineage. However, red flags prompted the officers to further scrutinize his documents, which he later said were acquired for him by a compatriot. He was later confirmed to be a Korean named Kim Ho Cheol.

Earlier this month, the BI reported the arrest of Faizan Muhammad, who presented a Philippine national ID. Also arrested was an overstaying Korean, Kwak Dong Hee, 26, who assumed the name Erik Nacis. He was apprehended while trying to leave the country after the immigration officer noticed that he could not converse in Filipino and had trouble communicating in any local dialect. The Korean confessed that he illegally obtained the passport by paying more than P120,000 to a compatriot in the Philippines. But Kwak refused to divulge who processed and acquired the birth certificate found in his possession.

In another incident, a Chinese passenger also presented a genuine Philippine passport bearing the name of Sonny Tamayo Liang upon his arrival from Bangkok at the NAIA Terminal 2. Although his passport appeared to be genuine, it registered a hit in the BI's Interpol database, indicating that it was a stolen and lost travel document. Also arrested by the BI was a 49-year-old Canadian who also presented a genuine Philippine passport but who was also unable to speak Filipino or any Philippine dialect.

The Canadian later said it was his lawyer who processed his birth certificate for the application of his passport. All aliens were charged with violations of the Philippine Immigration Act and blacklisted by the bureau.

Source: manilatimes.net