IMMIGRATION Commissioner Norman Tansingco yesterday ordered a tighter screening of foreigners coming from Vietnam and Cambodia due to reports of extortion and kidnapping activities from syndicates hailing from those countries.
Tansingco said he has directed immigration officers to scrutinize and refer for secondary inspection foreigners coming from those countries who have doubtful reasons or purpose to travel to Manila.
He said law enforcement agencies have informed the BI of foreigners who are members of syndicates traveling to the country to perpetrate their illegal activities.
“Our partnership with other law enforcement agencies allowed us to see whether there is a need to implement tighter measures or screening on certain types of travelers,” the BI chief said.
He said through their passenger information system that keeps track of daily arrivals to the country, they were able to look at arrival trends and patterns, prompting his order to frontline immigration officers in international airports and seaports to tighten their inspection of arrivals from the two countries.
