The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday vowed to crack the whip against illegal foreigners as it stressed that it will not cower from complaints against the agency for legitimate arrests that they have conducted.

This comes after reports that a number of Indian nationals had filed a complaint against BI intelligence officers.

BI commissioner Norman Tansingco disclosed that there were complaints filed with the National Prosecution Service in Pasay which claimed that the operations carried out by the 13 intelligence officers that were involved in the illegal arrest of 16 Indian nationals in Antique and Iloilo were unlawful.

The Indian nationals claimed that they had no immigration violations because they were in possession of legitimate 9(g) working visas.

According to Tansingco, the 16 Indians were arrested as a result of allegations made against them for allegedly engaging in the “5-6,” or illegal money-lending operation.

The agency shared a copy of a letter that the Antique Provincial Board had sent them, reporting the rise in the number of Indian nationals that are engaging in illegal “5-6” operations, drug trafficking and kidnapping in their region.

Tansingco said they have also received several reports in Iloilo against Indian nationals involved in violence, urging the BI to conduct operations against said foreign nationals.

A total of 10 Indians was taken into custody in the Iloilo municipalities of Arevalo and Savana while six more in San Jose, Antique were also arrested.