BI nabs 3 Germans teaching at UST

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday said it arrested over the weekend three German tourists for moonlighting as professors at a university in Manila.

The BI identified the three as Eric Swehla, 45; Hermann Siebdrat, 54 and Klaus Peter Neuhrich, 73; all of whom were working as lecturers at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) without the necessary visas and permits.

The Germans were arrested at the Tomas Aquinas Research Center on the UST campus on Saturday morning.

Records showed that Siebdrat last entered the country on Feb. 5 while Swehla arrived five days later. Nuehrich has been in the country since last year, according to the bureau.

The arrests were made based on a complaint filed by a Swiss national identified as Herbert Joseph Vogt who accused the three of engaging in gainful occupation as lecturers-teachers since last year without the appropriate permits.

In his affidavit, Vogt informed BI intelligence officers that since last year, Swehla and Siebdrat had been regularly visiting the country almost every month as tourists. They would stay in the country for two or three days, he claimed.

From its investigation, the bureau learned that Swehla was president of the International University of Cooperative Education (IUCE) in Germany while Nuehrich has been the director handling the local office in Manila since August last year.

Vogt alleged that Swehla and Siebdrat were lecturers at the UST-IUCE First Philippine-German dual bachelor program who were charging students P20,388 a month as tuition.

During interrogation, the three Germans admitted that they arrived in the country as tourists and did not have the necessary permits to teach.

The BI legal division subsequently filed appropriate charges against the foreigners for violating the terms and condition of their visa. The Board of Special Inquiry will hear and resolve the case against them.