BI intensifies drive vs alien fugitives

The Bureau of Immigration has cited the importance of timely information exchange among foreign governments in order to prevent fugitives from entering the country.

Commissioner Norman Tansingco said there is a need for the BI to know the backgrounds and other pertinent details about foreigners entering the country so they can properly screen and weed out those with criminal records.

Tansingco was responding to a concern raised recently by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian that some BI personnel were conspiring with fugitives linked to the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).

A Taiwanese fugitive identified as Chang Chia Wei was arrested in a raid conducted at a POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac last 13 March.

"How could fugitives from other countries enter the Philippines? Are we being tricked into letting them in or are we really allowing them to get through?" Gatchalian had said.

"Foreign POGO workers who turn out to be fugitives in their respective countries have become common in all the POGO raids we have seen in recent years. This indicates that they are part of organized criminal syndicates," he added.

According to a BI analysis, all foreign nationals detained after recent raids on illegal online gambling operations had been identified as fugitives by their own governments months and even years after they arrived in the country.

Tansingco said that if the BI had been provided the information about their criminal records in a timely manner, they could have barred their entry into the Philippines from the outset.

He said that improved information sharing would enable the BI to allocate its resources more effectively.

"No foreign fugitive should find refuge in the Philippines," Tansingco said.

Drawing comparisons to current procedures, Tansingco said they were able to intercept registered sexual offenders at ports of entry due to the timely information provided by the United States government.

The BI's ability to intercept people with Interpol hits has improved with the agency's central database of derogatory records that is connected to Interpol.

A total of 3,359 foreign nationals were excluded by the BI in 2023, of whom 39 were flagged after registering a hit on Interpol's database. Further, 170 individuals who had prior convictions for sexual offenses were also denied entry when timely information from their governments was provided to the BI, resulting in their interception.

Last year, the BI arrested 128 fugitives involved in different cases in their home countries. Majority of those arrested were South Korean and Chinese nationals, who were reported to be involved in cases such as fraud and other illegal activities.

Those arrested included four Japanese fugitives involved in violent crimes in Tokyo, a Sudanese man involved in organ trafficking, and a Mongolian high official wanted for corruption.

Tansingco said since 2023, he has asked foreign embassies and consulates, including of China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, to share their data on fugitives so these could be stopped at the ports of entry.