MANILA, Philippines — Two Chinese nationals were apprehended in a raid by local authorities at a residence in Benguet on Saturday, according to Bureau of Immigration (BI) Spokesperson Dana Sandoval.
The operation was based on leads from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the BI.
“Information came from PAOCC with additional data from immigration. So, we acted on a mission order issued by Commissioner Norman Tansingco after ma-receive po natin ‘yung initial information from PAOCC,” Sandoval told INQUIRER.net over the phone, noting that the arrested individuals were one male and one female.
“Nakikita natin na ‘yung isa po hindi nakapagpresenta ng any kind of immigration document, so siya po ay tinuturing natin na undocumented alien. Samantalang ‘yung isa po while mayroon daw siyang working visa—which has to be verified pa sa ating system—maaari po siyang humarap na kaso na harboring illegal alien,” she added.
(One of the arrested was unable to present any kind of immigration document and isconsidered an undocumented alien. Meanwhile, the other person, while claiming to have a working visa—which still needs to be verified in our system—may face charges of harboring an illegal alien.)
When asked about the owner of the residence where the foreigners were arrested, Sandoval said there is no official information yet.