The Bureau of Immigration (BI) successfully deported 43 Chinese nationals on Thursday.
The said Chinese nationals were part of the more than 100 foreign nationals previously arrested by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime (PAOCC) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC), after implementing a search warrant issued by the Makati Regional Trial Court for alleged violation of RA 9208 and RA 10364 or the Anti Trafficking in Persons Act along F.B. Harrison St. in Pasay City.
The PAOCC and the PNP-WCPC discovered that the said foreign nationals were working for an establishment that engages in human trafficking activities.
The BI said that due to this, they were found to have violated the terms and conditions of their visas and are considered threats to public interest.
The group boarded a Philippine Airlines flight to Shanghai at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that as a consequence of their deportation, the names of the Chinese nationals have been included in the BI’s blacklist, and they are barred from entering the country in the future.
“We are working closely with other government agencies to rid the country of such undesirable aliens who abuse our hospitality and stay here doing their illegal activities,” said Tansingco.
He further encouraged concerned citizens to report illegal aliens that might be conducting illicit activities in their area.
Maritime Zones Act passes 2nd reading of the Senate
Senator Francis “Tol” Tolentino’s committee on Wednesday passed Senate Bill No. 2492 otherwise known as the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, in the second reading of the Senate after active interpellation and a series of individual amendments.
The said proposal seeks to declare the rights of the Philippines in its maritime zones, including underwater features for the enjoyment and cultivation of Filipinos.
Tolentino, sponsor and one of the main authors of SB 2492 and also the chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones, supervised the bill because it would make the Philippines comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the establishment of maritime zones.
Earlier, Tolentino mentioned that it is timely and necessary for the Philippines to have its own Maritime Zones Act.
This is not only a legal obligation but a basic necessity for the national, economic, and environmental security of the Philippines.
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