15 illegal Chinese arrested in Cavite warehouse raid – BI

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced the arrest of 15 Chinese nationals caught working as warehouse workers.

According to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, 15 Chinese nationals were arrested on Wednesday morning at a business center in Barangay Niog II, Bacoor, Cavite. The operation was conducted in coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP) Police Regional Office 4A.

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“Our operatives saw 15 foreigners working in different warehouses in the area. Upon verification of their documents, it was found that 10 of them had working visas petitioned by a different company,” said Morente. “That is a clear violation of immigration laws, hence they will be subjected to deportation proceedings,” he added.

A report from the BI Intelligence Division showed that the Chinese nationals were caught working as office staff and stock managers in the said warehouses.

The BI clarified that work visas are company and activity-specific, and may not be used to engage in other types of work for another company.

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“Despite the pandemic, our intelligence teams are actively investigating reports of illegal aliens staying in our country,” said Morente. “We urge foreign nationals to legitimize their stay here in the country, lest they face expulsion and blacklisting,” he warned.

15 illegal Chinese arrested in Cavite warehouse raid – BI

The 15 will undergo RT-PCR testing and quarantine, and will temporarily be detained at the BI’s Warden Facility in Bicutan, Taguig pending deportation.

Meanwhile, BI warned the public about a returning modus of scammers pretending to be immigration officials.

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In a statement, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente stated that he received reports of scammers targeting heads of BI’s provincial offices.

“These scammers would call up the office and pretend to be from the BI’s top management, often requesting cellphone load and other small favors,” he stated.

The scammer would call BI offices through their landlines, and request for the “head of office”. Once through, they would pretend to be a top BI official, and claim that they would be visiting the area. “The scammer would then start demanding favors, including sending load to his mobile number,” he added. “What these scammers don’t realize is that our office heads are immigration officers, hence they have been trained to spot inconsistencies and conduct verifications,” he shared.

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