MANILA — More than 5,000 foreign nationals have been barred from entering the country last year, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Wednesday.
According to BI Port Operations Division (POD) chief Marc Red Mariñas, a total of 5,146 foreign nationals were denied entry in different airports nationwide in 2017.
He said that the aliens were prevented from entering the country as their presence was deemed “inimical to national interest”.
Statistics showed that 2,168 Chinese nationals topped the list of excluded aliens, followed by 295 Indians, 190 Americans, 183 Koreans, and 120 Vietnamese.
Based on his report submitted to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, Mariñas disclosed that majority of the foreigners, or 4,511, were turned away at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
A total of 334 and 112 aliens were also denied entry at the airports in Mactan, Cebu and Kalibo, Aklan, respectively, while 11 others were intercepted at Clark, Pampanga.
Mariñas added that most of the aliens who were turned back were profiled as individuals who did not have the means to support their stay here and whose purposes in entering the country were doubtful.
Likewise, he said that exclusion orders were issued against the foreign nationals convicted of sex crimes, improperly documented aliens, and passengers who were rude and disrespectful towards immigration officers.
For his part, Morente commended the BI-POD personnel for thwarting the entry of the undesirable aliens even as he exhorted them to keep their vigilance in discharging their duties as gatekeepers of the country.
“Our country is safer and our borders are secure because of you. Keep watching!” the BI chief in his message to BI port personnel. (PNA)