By Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – Five foreign nationals were arrested in separate operations in Pangasinan and Ifugao as the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) intensified crackdown on overstaying and undocumented aliens.
The foreigners were brought to the BI main office in Manila for booking and legal processing, according to a news release over the weekend.
They are now detained at the BI Warden Facility in Taguig pending deportation.
In Dagupan City, Nigerian national Emmanuel Emeka Ndukwe, 34, was apprehended on April 25 near a church in Barangay Bolosan.
He was undocumented and holding an expired passport. During booking, Ndukwe turned violent, head-butting two BI staff, including a nurse.
On April 28, four Chinese nationals were arrested in Lagawe.
Yang Yongxiang, 53, along with Yuan Tonghua and Zeng Jiakuan, were caught working at the Ibulao Hydro Power Plant as engineers and supervisors without valid visas or permits.
A related operation on the same day led to the arrest of Gan Yiyun, 30, wife of one of the three arrested individuals. She was held for unauthorized employment and misrepresentation.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado praised the coordinated efforts of law enforcement agencies, emphasizing the government’s commitment to enforcing immigration laws under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive. (PNA)
