IMMIGRATION officers assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport arrested a Korean posing as a Filipino while trying to leave the country last Monday.
Immigration Intelligence Division chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. said the 43-year-old Korean, who used a Filipino name in his Philippine passport, was apprehended while awaiting a Philippine Airlines flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia at NAIA terminal 2.
Manahan said the Korean presented a Philippine passport but could not answer basic questions in any Filipino dialect.
This, he said, caused the primary inspector to doubt the authenticity of the travel document and referred him for secondary inspection.
“Upon interview, the alien admitted that he used to have a Korean passport, and he obtained his Philippine passport through another Korean national,” Manahan said.
He said the Korean was also able to present a postal ID and a Philippine driver’s license.
“But he was unable to describe basic details about his identity, including the names of his parents and his alleged wife and child, despite the use of a Korean translating application,” Manahan added.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco ordered an investigation on how the Korean managed to acquire a Philippine passport.
“There have been many instances in the past of foreign nationals obtaining Philippine documents through misrepresentation and illegal means that have been stopped by our alert officers,” the BI chief said.
“We also warn that evading immigration protocols through acquiring spurious documents warrants deportation,” he added.
The Korean is currently being held by the BI at its detention facility in Taguig City pending prosecution for violating immigration laws.
Last year, 87 Korean nationals were deported for violation of immigration laws, including overstaying their visas, violating the conditions of their stay, and being undesirable aliens.
