Around 100 members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ hold a protest at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila amid the service of arrest warrants against fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy and others in Davao City. (File photo from INQUIRER.net/ FAITH ARGOSINO)
MANILA, Philippines — Three Malaysians who claimed to be members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) were barred from entering the Philippines after the Bureau of Immigration (BI) discovered that they intended to join a protest against government.
In a statement on Sunday, BI said Jessica Lynn Henry, Mimielianna Annie Anak Leesoi and Andrijosebaul Anak Garra, all in their mid-20s, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last August 27.
They came with a group of Filipinos who also presented themselves as KJC members.
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The Malaysians were “abandoned” by their Filipino companions after the foreigners were referred for further immigration inspection.
The BI said the Malaysians were denied entry because they intended to join a protest.
“Our immigration officers discovered their intent to participate in anti-government demonstrations being staged by KOJC members who are protesting the ongoing manhunt for Pastor Quiboloy,” said Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco, as quoted in the statement.
He stressed that “foreigners have no business interfering in the country’s internal political affairs.”
“Thus, aliens who join these protest actions can be expelled for violating our immigration laws and for being undesirable aliens,” he warned.
The Malaysians claimed they were going to Davao City at the invitation of the KJC, BI said.
However, they could not show any proof of their financial capacity to support their stay in the country.
They also admitted they were unemployed, the BI added.
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One of the passengers also unintentionally showed to BI supervisors her mobile phone with a screenshot of various anti-government slogans such as “BBM Resign,” “Stop KOJC Injustices” and “AFP/PNP Protect the People.”
The Malaysians have been placed in the immigration blacklist and boarded back to a flight to their home country last August 28.