Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco reiterated that the proliferation of illegally-acquired Philippine passports is a national security issue.
During the Public Hearing of the Committee on Finance presided by Senator Sonny Angara, Tansingco shared that there were at least 10 recent cases of authentic Philippine passports used by illegal aliens.
The hearing discussed the proposed 2024 National Expenditure Program of the Department of Justice and its attached agencies, which includes the BI.
Tansingco detailed that these foreign nationals were able to illegally acquire Philippine documents such as passports, birth certificates, driver’s license, and postal IDs.
It can be recalled that in April, the BI reported the case of a certain Danny Wong, who attempted to depart for Cambodia, claiming that he was of Chinese-Korean-Filipino lineage.
However, numerous red flags promoted the officers to further scrutinize his documents, which he later confirmed to have been acquired by a compatriot. He was later confirmed to be a Korean national named Kim Ho Cheol.
Earlier this month, the BI reported the arrest of Faizan Muhammad who presented a Philippine National ID.
“Their use of authentic documents make it doubly difficult to detect and arrest,” said Tansingco. “But through our officers’ advanced skills, we were able to ascertain their actual identities” he added.
All aliens were charged for violation of the Philippine Immigration Act and were included in the BI’s derogatory list.
Colorado man convicted of sex crimes barred from entering PH
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) barred the entry of a Colorado man who was previously convicted of rape.
The American man was identified as Charles Harry Cooper, 66, who arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 last October 8.
Cooper arrived on board a China Air flight from Taiwan when he was stopped by immigration authorities. He claimed to be merely visiting for tourism purposes and will be staying in Pasay City.
Information received by the BI show that Cooper was convicted in the United States (US) in 2009 for statutory rape in the 1st degree and statutory sodomy for a person under 14, as well as molestation in the first degree.
BI officers then prevented his entry and required him to board the next available flight back to his country of origin.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that sex offenders have no place in the country.
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