Foreigners banned from politicking, BI chief reiterates

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday reiterated its order to a Dutch lay missionary to leave the country and stressed that the country’s laws prohibit foreigners in the country from engaging in any political activity.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente made the reminder amid demands that Otto Rudolf de Vries, 62, be allowed to stay in the country after the BI canceled the permanent resident visa issued to the missionary.

“There are no exemptions. Foreign nationals, regardless of their visa type, may not engage in partisan political activities,” said Morente in a statement.

Information from the BI showed that the case against De Vries had been pending since 2019 and that he was given a chance to respond to the allegations against him, but he declined to do so.

Active participation

The BI said it ordered the cancellation of De Vries’ resident visa after the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency informed the bureau in December 2019 that the missionary was “engaged and was actively participating in protest rallies of Communist-Terrorist Groups front organizations.”

The bureau’s legal division directed De Vries to submit his counteraffidavit on Jan. 23, 2020, but the missionary “opted not to do so.”

De Vries denied he received any notice from the bureau until he visited the immigration office as part of the annual reportorial requirement.