BI rounds up Chinese illegals

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Friday arrested more than 130 Chinese nationals in Calaca, Batangas, for allegedly working at a construction site in the area without the required working permit and visa.

BI officer in charge Commissioner Siegfred Mison said the 138 foreigners, who were found working at the project site of the NEPC Power Corp. in Barangay Puting Bato in Calaca town, were rounded up “for questioning” after concerned citizens and agencies reported their presence there.

They were later brought to the BI’s field office in Batangas City for interview, verification and inquest proceedings.

As of press time, the Chinese nationals were still being questioned by prosecutors from BI’s Law and Investigation Division. Appropriate charges will be filed against them before the bureau’s board of commissioners, according to BI acting intelligence chief Jose Carlitos Licas.

Mison also disclosed that none of the Chinese workers could show their passports or any travel documents during the interview with immigration authorities.

They will undergo preliminary investigation prior to the possible filing of charges against them for violating the conditions of their stay, added the BI chief.

“We will deport them immediately once the board of commissioners has established that they have been working here without a visa,” he said.

He also pointed out yesterday that the bureau had been warning companies against hiring undocumented aliens. “We reiterate our call to companies to ensure that foreign nationals they employ have the necessary permits to work in the Philippines,” he said.

The raid was conducted on Friday morning following days of intensive surveillance, according to the BI officials.