Sengaloun Phimpa, a man with a fraudulent passport nabbed by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday, October 4, 2023. Photo from the BI.
MANILA, Philippines — A man with a counterfeit Philippine passport was intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Wednesday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported.
The bureau identified the suspect as Sengaloun Phimpa.
The BI shared that Phimpa arrived on board an AirAsia flight from Bangkok, Thailand, and claimed to be deaf and mute when he presented a suspicious passport.
The BI said an immigration officer found numerous inconsistencies with the passport and submitted it for tertiary inspection in the bureau’s forensic documents laboratory.
It was then revealed that Phimpa’s passport was fraudulent and had a counterfeit immigration stamp and Thai visa.
The bureau also noted that a Philippine TIN ID, a Philippine Postal ID, and other Thai documents were found in his possession.
Meanwhile, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that Phimpa may just be pretending to be deaf and mute as he would not be able to speak in Filipino.
“We have reason to suspect that this man is pretending to be deaf-mute to avoid having to speak Filipino,” he said in a statement.
The Commissioner said that Phimpa’s case will undergo further investigation.
In an exchange of messages, BI Spokesperson Dana Sandoval told INQUIRER.net that there is still no confirmation on Phimpa’s nationality, but there is a possibility that he is Thai.
If proven to be a foreign national, the bureau said he would be transferred to their holding facility in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City to wait for his deportation proceedings.
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