9 Chinese nabbed for visa violations in Parañaque

Authorities arrested nine Chinese citizens 9 Chinese nabbed for visa violations in Parañaque City for alleged visa violations and suspicious activity in reclamation sites in Manila Bay.

In a report by Joseph Morong in Monday’s 24 Oras, a team from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) accosted the Chinese men at the Parañaque Fishport after disembarking from a motor boat and boarding a waiting van.

According to authorities, the boat had just come from a dredging site in Manila Bay.

Four of the Chinese workers have a passport and working visas sponsored by an engineering firm in Pasay City. Five others were undocumented.

However, the BI said even if the four Chinese workers were registered in a company in Pasay, it is possible that they are also working at the dredging site, which is in violation of their working visas.

“Doon sa pabalik balik nila, ilang beses na po silang nakitaan na may kasamang babae na maaring nagkaroon ng kakaibang activity,” BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said.

(As they came and left, they were seen with a woman, which is possibly suspicious activity.)

The agency has been monitoring the activities of Chinese citizens along the coast of Manila Bay, one of whom was caught wearing camouflaged clothing.

The bureau said it is investigating if the uniform is associated with the People’s Liberation Army Navy. (PLAN) or any of  the armed services of China.

“Very suspicious hindi lang po yung frequency kundi yung pagpunta punta po ng ilang indibidwal na ito nang paulit-ulit, pabalik balik po. It is definitely a security concern. That’s the Manila Bay, that’s the heart of Metro Manila …. Nakikita natin na ang aliens na ito ay pabalik balik sa area,” Sandoval said.

(It is very suspicious not just in terms of the frequency but also the fact that some of these individuals repeatedly keep going back… We are seeing aliens visiting the area multiple times.)

The Chinese men are presently detained at a BI facility in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News