BI arrested 500 erring foreigners in 2020

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested more than 500 foreigners, mostly Chinese, for violating Philippine immigration laws in 2020. Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said 510 were rounded up in different operations in various places of the country. But the figure was significantly lower than the more than 2,000 foreigners apprehended in 2019, he added. “Because of the pandemic and community quarantines imposed, there was a decrease in the movement of aliens,” Morente said, adding that a lot of foreign nationals also joined repatriation flights back to their home countries. The bulk of those arrested were Chinese allegedly engaged in illegal online gaming and cybercrime. Other foreign nationals arrested were allegedly overstaying, improperly documented or without permits and engaging in unauthorized business activities. —Tina G. Santos