Immigration Bureau puts tight lid on country’s entry ports

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Immigration has placed on full alert all its personnel assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), and other ports of entry, to guard against the possible entry of foreign terrorists following the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said the Philippines is a key ally of the US in the war against terror, thus “we cannot discount the possibility of terrorist reprisals happening here.”

“Foreigners whose names appear in the immigration blacklist will be excluded and booked on the first available flight to their port of origin,” David warned.

The BI has also directed its intelligence agents at the NAIA and other ports to be on the lookout for suspicious-looking foreigners so they can be monitored and, if possible, be invited for further questioning.

David explained that immigration officers have full discretion to refuse entry to foreigners whose presence in the country may be deemed a threat to national security.

He explained that the power to exclude undesirable aliens is exercised by the immigration bureau in view of its mandate as the country’s gatekeeper, and chief regulator of the entry and stay of aliens in the Philippines.

Lawyer Maria Antonette Mangrobang, BI acting intelligence chief, disclosed that the bureau maintains a database of thousands of suspected foreign terrorists whose identities were provided to the bureau by police and intelligence agencies of other countries involved in the war against terror.