(INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — A total of 2,778 undesirable or improperly documented foreigners have been denied entry to the country from January to October 2023, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Tuesday.
According to the BI, 696 of the foreigners are Chinese. Likewise, barred entry were 414 Vietnamese, 214 Indonesians, 204 Americans, and 138 Indians.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said 2,768 foreigners were barred from entering the Philippines last year for different reasons.
Most of the barred foreigners this year attempted to enter the country through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the BI said.
Tansingco said 52% were excluded for being likely to become public charges or a burden to the government and 20% for being improperly undocumented.
According to Tansingco, they strengthened port monitoring due to the increase of arriving foreign nationals after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As the world opens, the number of travelers has increased,” he said.
“And with this also comes the increase of illegal aliens attempting to enter the country,” he added.