INQUIRER file photo / ALEXIS CORPUZ
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Monday that 220 aliens of various nationalities were denied entry to the Philippines in March of this year.
According to the BI, the barred foreigners are found to be likely to “become a public charge” in violation of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940.
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Among this number, the bureau added, 150 are Vietnamese, 30 are Chinese, and 14 are Indonesians.
“We leverage available data on past arrests and interceptions to identify individuals exhibiting similar travel behaviors,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said in the bureau’s report.
BI’s immigration protection and border enforcement section said in the same report that the increase in entry denials stemmed from a rise in Vietnam citizens found to be working in illegal online gaming hubs.
The BI Commissioner, however, stressed that the bureau is not targeting specific nationalities but its actions are based on “meticulous scrutiny of travel patterns and activities of individuals.”
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Excluded foreigners are included in BI’s blacklist, effectively barring any future attempts to enter the country.
In 2023, immigration authorities prevented a total of 3,359 foreigners of different nationalities from entering the country.