Nearly 10,000 “undesirable aliens” were barred from entering the Philippines last year, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has announced.
It seems that Chinese people are the least desirable visitors, with 2,034 turned away, followed by 269 Indians, 179 Vietnamese, 163 Americans and 119 Indonesians.
Reasons for refused entry include being on a blacklist of fugitives, suspected terrorists and convicted sex offenders, although BI spokesman Marc Red Marinas said there were also administrative reasons for refused entry.
“We also turned away foreign passengers who did not have entry visas and those who failed to procure outbound tickets which is a basic requirement for foreign tourists,” he said.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said that the total number of aliens barred from entering the country last year was 9,738 — 45 per cent more than were refused entry in 2015.
“That we were able to stop these unwanted aliens from entering our borders is proof of our continued vigilance in the discharge of our mandate as gatekeepers of the country,” he said. “Most of the excluded aliens were denied entry after they were identified as likely to become public charges.”
Although the bulk of the excluded aliens were intercepted at the NAIA, there were also some turned away in other airports including Mactan, Clark, Kalibo, Iloilos and Davao.
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