Boehringer not detained–BI

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Friday that 84-year-old Australian-American law professor Gill Boehringer was not under detention but only denied entry into the country.

According to immigration spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval, Boehringer “technically” has yet to enter the Philippines as he failed to “controvert the assessment of the immigration officer,” who denied him entry early Wednesday morning because of his inclusion in the bureau’s blacklist.

Sandoval said that while the professor and human rights advocate was indeed still at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 1, he was under the custody of airline officials as part of the bureau’s protocols on the exclusion of foreign nationals.

Under the law, she said, passengers refused entry to the country are required to board the next available flight back to their port of origin.

Boehringer was scheduled to fly back to Guangzhou, China, on Thursday afternoon aboard a China Southern Airlines flight but was unable to do so because of his medical condition.

His lawyers sent a medical certificate to the immigration bureau showing that he can’t make the trip because he has cellulitis on both legs and is at risk of deep vein thrombosis, or blood clotting in the veins.

All possible assistance

Sandoval said they were constantly getting updates on Boehringer’s condition from the airline, which is keeping him in a “decent room with basic furniture needed for a comfortable stay.”

“The bureau understands and considers his situation and has extended all possible assistance our office can give to him, including medical attention from his chosen physician,” she said.

Boehringer was included in the bureau’s blacklist last year following reports that he participated in a November 2015 rally in the country. Sandoval earlier said that this was in violation of the bureau’s order banning foreigners from participating in political activities.

“Inclusion in the blacklist means that the subject is a threat to public order and safety, and blacklisting minimizes that risk,” she said.

She noted though that the order might be lifted once Boehringer was able to show “sufficient proof” for its reversal.