2 Africans with fake visas held

INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines—Immigration authorities denied two African nationals entry to the country after they were caught using spurious visas and travel documents.

Immigration Commissioner Siegfried Mison said that Sofia Zeinu Ali, an Ethiopian national, was intercepted at the Naia Terminal 2 recently.

A Ghanaian national named Andersen Adua Abalem was intercepted at the airport’s arrival area upon disembarking from a Philippine Airlines flight from from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Ali arrived via Philippine Airlines from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and claimed that she was in the Philippines for a vacation.

When asked further regarding her purpose, Ali merely shook her head and claimed she doesn’t understand English. Upon inspection of her travel documents, immigration officers found that her passport had numerous cuts and blurry. They also detected a counterfeit “Schengen” visa, Mison said.

During interrogation, officials were surprised when two unidentified foreigners at the airport’s arrival area approached and talked to Ali.

“The Philippine border security should not be taken lightly,” said Mison, adding that the Philippines will not serve as a transit hub for foreigners with counterfeit visa stamps.

On the other hand, Abalem was on transit to Vancouver, Canada. But upon inspection, the passenger presented a Republic of Ghana passport with a V-1 multiple Canada sticker visa.