Dozens of arrivals deported for being rude to Philippine immigration officers

rude
Never be rude to immigration officers if you want to visit the Philippines.

The Bureau of Immigration deported — and sometimes blacklisted — 74 foreigners for being rude to immigration officers last year.

The BI says that such “disrespectful” behaviour qualified visitors as being “undesirable aliens”.

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“The entry and stay of foreigners in the country is not a right but a mere privilege,” BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said.

“Thus, they ought to show respect and courtesy to immigration officers upon their arrival in our ports of entry.”

According to a statement issused by Mr Morente today (Tuesday, February 6) the BI has been strictly implementing a policy to “exclude or disallow the entry of foreigner who show disrespect or make offensive utterances to symbols of Philippine authority”.

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He also said such grounds for exclusion are listed under a memorandum order that former immigration chief Andrea Domingo issued in 2001.

The BI chief issued the statement after BI port operations division chief Marc Red Mariñas reported that a total of 74 aliens were barred from entering the country last year for showing a lack of respect to immigration officers.

Mr Mariñas said the 2001 memorandum provided not only for the exclusion of “rude foreigners” but also their inclusion in an immigration blacklist to bar their return to the Philippines.

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“This is done to teach these arrogant and discourteous foreigners the lesson that ours is a sovereign country whose authority they should respect,” he said.

It was learned that aside from the 74 “aliens” who were turned away at the border, there were several foreigners who were blacklisted after they have left the country, also for alegedly being rude to immigration authorities.

Anyone who is blacklisted for being rude may, however, request their removal of their name from the list. To do so, they should contact the BI commissioner to apologise and give “meritorious reasons” for why they should be allowed to return to the Philippines.

As we recently reported, last year saw a record number of foreigners deported from the Philippines, with more than 1,500 given their marching orders in 2017.

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