(Eagle News) — Over 500 foreigners were arrested last year for violating Philippine immigration laws, the Bureau of Immigration said.
According to the bureau, the 510 foreigners arrested in enforcement operations conducted by agents from the intelligence division were significantly lower than the more than 2,000 foreigners apprehended by bureau agents in 2019.
Bureau intelligence chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. said among those arrested were 332 Chinese nationals in Tarlac in December.
He said they were working illegally in the country and were involved in cybercrimes.
On Feb. 4, he said 14 Indian nationals were arrested in General Santos, while 30 others were nabbed in Quezon City in March on charges of overstaying and being improperly documented.
Also arrested in two operations in February and March, Manahan added, were 14 South Koreans and two Vietnamese nationals who were caught without permits and engaging in unauthorized business activities.
Bureau agents also assisted military intelligence operatives in catching suspected foreign terrorists in Mindanao, including the Indonesian wife of a suicide bomber who was arrested in Jolo, Sulu last October, the bureau said.
The bureau said she was was charged by the BI for undesirability and being an illegal entrant.
“Because of the pandemic and community quarantines imposed, there was a decrease in the movement of aliens,” bureau chief Jaime Morente said.
He added “a lot of foreign nationals also joined repatriation flights back to their home countries.”
