By JUN RAMIREZ
The Bureau of Immigration has said more than 7,700 unwanted aliens were barred from entering the country last year, the highest in the agency’s history.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente revealed that a total of 7,724 foreigners were denied entry in 2019, or 65 percent higher than the 4,679 aliens who were turned back in 2018.
“They were turned back by immigration officers who found that they were improperly documented or ineligible to enter and stay in the Philippines,” Morente said.
He added that the aliens were immediately booked on the first available flight to back to their port of origin.
Morente explained that immigration officers have the authority to assess and decide if an arriving alien is eligible to be admitted into the country as a temporary visitor.
“A foreigner may be excluded if he is improperly documented or the immigration officer deems that his presence or stay here is inimical to the national interest and public welfare,” the BI chief stressed.
BI port operations chief Grifton Medina attributed the sharp rise in the number of excluded aliens to the increased vigilance of BI personnel manning the country’s ports of entry.
Medina added that nearly two-thirds of the aliens were tagged as likely to become public charges, or persons whose reasons for entry to the Philippines are doubtful, lacks the means to support their stay in the country, and were unable to explain their purpose in traveling to the Philippines.
“The others who were turned back were improperly documented aliens, convicted sex offenders, rude passengers, blacklisted foreigners, and those without entry visas,” he said.
Morente stressed that the increased vigilance will continue in 2020.
“We are ensuring that our borders are tightly guarded to prevent the entry of illegal aliens who might abuse our hospitality,” said Morente. (Jun Ramirez)
