BI to deport two foreigners for tampering passports, hiding identities

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is readying the deportation of two foreigners who were arrested last month as they attempted to leave for Canada using spurious documents.

A report of BI Deputy Commissioner Marc Red Mariñas to BI Chief Jaime Morente said the two foreign nationals are Kabilan Kannathashan, a 25-year-old Sri Lankan, and Emmanuel Kyeremateng, a 26-year-old Ghanaian.

Mariñas said the two were arrested at the NAIA terminals 2 and 3 in June after they were caught using tampered passports in an attempt to leave the Philippines and work in Canada.

Kannathashan allegedly used a Canadian passport while Kyeremateng used a Malta passport to hide their real identities and nationalities.

“There can be no doubt that the trips of these two aliens were facilitated by the same international syndicate that has been attempting to use Manila as a jump-off point to smuggle illegal aliens,” Mariñas said.

The syndicate allegedly provides their victims with tampered or bogus foreign passports to bypass immigration checks and be allowed to board their flights, he explained.

Mariñas said the two foreigners have approved electronic travel authorization for their trips which the BI believe to have been acquired through fraud and misrepresentation.

The two are currently detained at the BI Detention Center in Taguig and are charged with violating the Philippines Immigration Act.

The two will also be included in the Immigration blacklist to prevent them from re-entering the Philippines. — Alyssa Javier, INQUIRER.net Intern

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