1,300 aliens barred by BI from entering PH in 2021
THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Tuesday that they have barred more than 1,300 foreigners from entering the Philippines in 2021, having deemed that their presence was inimical to national interest.
In a report to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, BI port operations division chief Atty. Carlos Capulong said a total of 1,320 aliens were refused entry in 2021, which was lower than the over 3,000 foreign nationals who were intercepted in 2020.
Capulong clarified, however, that the decline was expected considering the travel bans imposed the whole year of 2021, which in turn resulted in the lower number of arriving passengers.
Capulong then disclosed that 450 Chinese nationals topped the list of the excluded aliens, followed by 261 Vietnamese, 159 Americans, 33 British, and 24 Israelis.
He said that of the 1,320 aliens, 676 were excluded for not having the means to support their stay in the country and whose purposes of stay in the country were doubtful, while 501 were deemed as improperly documented. Meanwhile 69 were excluded for being blacklisted.
Morente then vowed to ensure that the BI will continue to strictly guard the country’s borders against undesirable aliens.
“Despite the woes of the pandemic, our officers in the frontlines shall continue to ensure that only those eligible foreigners are allowed entry in the country,” he said.
