The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday said foreign nationals with permanent residency in the Philippines are not exempted from following the laws in the country.
“Ang mga foreign nationals hindi po exempted yan sa ECQ [enhance community quarantine] rules natin lalong lalo na dapat po talaga silang sumusunod sa lahat ng batas natin, at nirerespeto po dapat nila lahat ng law enforcement natin,” BI Spokesperson Dana Sandoval said in an interview over DZMM Teleradyo.
(Foreign nationals are not exempted in our enhanced quarantine rules. They should follow all of our laws and respect all of our law enforcement.)
“Ang visa po or any relationship dito sa Pilipinas — kahit sabihin nating permanent resident po siya — it’s not a free pass for people, for foreign nationals to do whatever they want dito sa Pilipinas, they have to still obey our laws,” Sandoval reiterated.
(The visa or any relationship here in the Philippines – even if he is a permanent resident – is not a free pass for people, for foreign nationals to do whatever they want in the Philippines, they have to obey our laws still.)
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Immigration: Foreign nationals with permanent residency not exempted from ECQ rules
The BI Spokesperson made the statement after a police enforcer had an altercation and attempted to arrest a Spanish national after the latter’s housemaid violated ECQ rule on wearing a face mask in public last Sunday, April 26.
“Ongoing po itong ating investigation. Lumabas po itong viral video nitong Lunes agad po ito ng finorward sa Intelligence Division para po makita nila kung ano ang status ni Salvador Parra,” she added.
(Our investigation is ongoing. The viral video surfaced on Monday and the Intelligence Division immediately forwarded it to us to check the status of Salvador Parra.)
“Kahit may asawa po siyang Pilipina o siya ay residente dito o kung ano man ang status niya, maaari pa rin po siyang i-subject sa deportation proceedings,” she added.
(Even if she’s married to a Filipina or if he’s a resident or whatever his status is, he could still be subjected to deportation proceedings.)
Sandoval, meanwhile, said the Bureau of Immigration might give further details on its investigation against Parra within the week.