BI issues deportation order vs 12 Chinese poachers but…

Members of the Philippine Coast Guard hold a frozen pangolin, or scaly anteater, on board a Chinese vessel that ran aground off Tubbataha coral reef in this April 13, 2013, photo released by the Philippine Coast Guard in Manila. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Immigration confirmed issuing deportation order against 12 Chinese poachers arrested in the country after they were found to be in possession of hundreds of dead pangolins or scaly anteaters.

“A deportation order was issued against them,” Immigration spokesperson Maria Antonette Mangrobang said Monday.

However she said “but it cannot be implemented pending the disposition of the criminal case.”

The fishermen are facing a case before the Palawan court for illegal poaching and bribery.

Mangrobang said if convicted, the Chinese fishermen still have to serve sentence in the Philippines before they are deported to their country.