MANILA, Philippines -- The Bureau of Immigration barred more than 600 foreigners from entering the country from January to November this year, Commissioner Marcelino Libanan has said.

Libanan said these foreigners have spurious travel documents which they believed were produced by members of trafficking syndicates.

"All of them have been placed in our blacklist of undesirable aliens and banned from entering the Philippines. These syndicates have been using the Philippines as a transit point for smuggling their victims to destinations like the United States, Canada, and Europe," Libanan said.

Libanan said that although immigration policies have focused on attracting more foreign tourists and investors to the Philippines, the country's security has not been compromised.

Of the 600 foreigners, 229 were not properly documented while 244 failed to explain the purpose of their visit.

A breakdown of their nationalities showed that the Chinese topped the list of aliens were not allowed to enter the country, with 160; Koreans came next, 70; Nigerians, 60; Taiwanese, 46; Indians, 44; Americans, 42; Ghanians, 39; and Japanese, 33.