The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported that immigration officials at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) intercepted two Chinese nationals attempting to depart the country by posing as Costa Ricans.

BI commissioner Atty. Joel Anthony Viado identified the two passengers as Wang Songyi and Liao Fudi, both Chinese nationals. They were apprehended on 19 October at NAIA Terminal 1 while trying to board a Philippine Airlines flight bound for Kuala Lumpur.

Investigations revealed that both passengers intended to travel to Canada, where they would use their Costa Rican passports to circumvent Canada’s entry visa restrictions for Chinese nationals.

The BI chief commended the BI officers who prevented the departure of these Chinese nationals, foiling a plot to facilitate the illegal entry of two aliens into North America.

Reports also said that the plan was foiled after BI officers processing the two travelers’ Costa Rican passports discovered irregularities as they claimed that the passports had counterfeit Philippine immigration arrival stamps, which the forensic document laboratory at the BI confirmed.

Both passengers were unable to speak Spanish, the main language in Costa Rica. When asked during the interview to reveal their true identities, both passengers handed over their Chinese passports, which also had fake BI arrival stamps.

The intercepted passengers were transferred to the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, after being turned over to the BI Border Control and Intelligence Unit (BI-BCIU).

BI-BCIU chief Ferdinand Tendenilla stated that the two had already been charged with deportation proceedings following a preliminary inquiry at the BI main office.