BI warns foreigners to stay away from PH politics

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday advised foreign nationals in the country to keep away from local politics to avoid suffering the fate of the 72-year-old Australian missionary who was deported in 2018 for joining rallies against President Duterte. “Foreigners joining mass actions and protests, including election campaigns, is a disrespect to our prescribed laws and is considered as a violation of their stay in the Philippines,” Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said in a statement. Morente reiterated that the country’s immigration law bars aliens from involvement in partisan political activities. “Those foreigners who will be found guilty of such acts, especially electioneering, shall be deported and blacklisted, perpetually barring them from returning to the Philippines,” he said. —Marlon Ramos