BI prods condo owners to report illegal activities of foreigners on property  

This undated photo shows the facade of the Bureau of Immigration’s main office in the city of Manila. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Condominium building owners share the responsibility of fighting human trafficking, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Thursday as it prompts them to report any illicit activities of foreign nationals residing on their property.

The BI was among the agencies placed in the hot seat during Wednesday’s Senate hearing where it was revealed that the country is hosting “scam hubs” in Metro Manila condominium units. Scam hubs are said to be places where trafficked foreigners stay as they participate in fraudulent schemes involving cryptocurrency.

“If there are illegal aliens in your vicinity, report them to Immigration, or to the local law enforcement agencies. Protectors of aliens doing illegal activities in the country are also liable by law,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said in a statement.

READ: PH hosts ‘scam hubs’ in condos for trafficking victims, senators learn

Tansingco urged condominium building owners to help the government since the BI and other law enforcement bodies experience difficulty in “simply entering” residential areas in general.

The BI chief then warned them that failure to report illicit activities on their property could be deemed as “harboring illegal aliens,” which is a violation under the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940.

Under the law, any individual who will bring into the Philippines or “conceal, harbor, employ, or give comfort to any alien not duly admitted by any immigration officer or not lawfully entitled to enter or reside within the Philippines under the terms of the immigration laws” may be penalized with a fine of not more than P10,000, imprisonment for not less than five years but not more than 10 years, and deportation if they are also illegally staying in the country.

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