Bureau of Immigration (BI) and National Bureau of Investigation agents have arrested in Tarlac more than 300 foreign nationals, majority of whom were Chinese, allegedly found working in the country without visas.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said in a statement that 332 illegal aliens were involved in online gambling, internet fraud, and cybercrime operations.
Of the 332 arrested, 323 were Chinese, eight Malaysians and one Indonesian. Fifty-six of them are females, while the rest are males.
BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said those arrested were “mostly young, below 30 years old, to middle-aged,” adding that verification of the foreign nationals’ background was going on.
‘Undocumented’
“Upon arrest, they were [found] undocumented so that’s a violation. But for confirmation, we’re checking on their status one by one before charging them,” she said.
Sandoval said the bureau had also yet to check when the foreign nationals arrived in the country.
According to Morente, the bureau received information from the NBI-International Operations Division about a worksite in Pag-asa Street, Barangay De la Cruz, Bamban, Tarlac, employing at least 200 undocumented aliens.
“Upon investigation and verification with our agents, we immediately issued a mission order to effect their arrest,” Morente said.
During the operations on Wednesday, BI and NBI agents caught the illegal aliens working by manning computers, using mobile phones, and other electronic devices, without working visas.
‘Clandestine operations’
“They were conducting clandestine operations. Their worksite was in a compound that was under construction, and they didn’t leave the premises as they already have their barracks there,” Morente said.
The arrested foreign nationals face deportation for violation of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940.
Sandoval said that apart from those arrested, owners of the illegal computer operations might also be held liable.
“If [they are] foreign nationals they may also be subjected to deportation cases. If [they are] Filipinos, the NBI may study possible cases against them,” she said.
The BI official also said that reports on computer crimes involving foreigners during the pandemic had been low.
“Since there really is an exodus of foreign nationals and lots of businesses are closed down during the pandemic, reports have been low, but we’ve been closely looking into anything we receive to be able to effect arrest against illegal aliens,” Sandoval said.
Due to the pandemic, the Philippine government suspended earlier this year the issuance of visa upon arrival to Chinese tourists, who use it to enter and work in the country without proper documents.
The BI said all the 332 arrested were now under NBI custody pending the filing of immigration charges and deportation. INQ