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MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Immigration agents announced the arrest of a Korean national wanted by authorities in Seoul for swindling two compatriots of more than 100 million won. Bureau of Immigration intelligence officer Bobby Raquepo, chief of the bureau’s fugitive search unit (FSU), identified the captured Korean as 49-year-old Kim Sang Wook, who was arrested on Tuesday in Malvar Street, Malate, Manila.

The FSU operatives were armed with a mission order from Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente who issued the same at the request of the Korean embassy in Manila. Raquepo said that a Korean court had issued an arrest warrant against Kim who is also the subject of a red notice from Interpol. He further disclosed that Kim was a teacher wanted for swindling his victims of 100 million won. Kim was reportedly found defrauding his victims six times by deceiving and promising his victims’ sons that they could be employed as teachers. Investigations revealed that Kim fled to Manila on February 2015 under a tourist visa and has not left the country since then. According to Raquepo, Kim will be deported, considering he is an undesirable alien for being a fugitive from justice. Morente then warned foreign fraudsters and fugitives staying in the country, “We are serious in our drive against undesirable aliens. We will hunt each one down, deport them, and bar them from re-entering the country,” he said. Kim is temporarily detained at the Bureau of Immigration Warden Facility (BIWF) pending deportation proceedings. Meanwhile, Morente lauded the improvements made at the BIWF. BIWF Chief Remiecar Caguiron detailed that the BIWF has undergone a total revamp under her administration. "Apart from improving the quality of our personnel through seminars on jail management and human rights, we have made numerous improvements in the facilities of the detention center," said Caguiron. "We renovated a lot of areas that were already old and dilapidated, and used the open spaces to create a multi-purpose hall," she shared. Caguiron clarified that the BIWF "is not a jail, but a detention center" where erring foreigners are temporarily held pending their deportation. The new facilities were made following calls to improve the conditions of the detention center. "The BIWF has a capacity of less than 200, hence it is quite a challenge especially since our intel has been conducting numerous arrests. The management actually is looking at the possibility of setting up another bigger detention center somewhere north of Luzon. This is part of our long term plans," she shared.

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According to Bureau of Immigration Port Operations Chief Grifton Medina. —An Iranian fugitive wanted for an assault and battery case was intercepted by immigration officers upon her arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Thursday morning. Bureau of Immigration (BI) Port Operations Division (POD) Chief Grifton Medina said 31-year-old Zare Bahari Bahareh was immediately excluded hours after she arrived at the NAIA terminal 3 aboard a Cebu Pacific flight from Dubai.

Medina said Zare Bahari, who was a respondent to an assault and battery case in Dagupan, was intercepted by Bureau of Immigration men upon seeing that her name has a hit in their derogatory database. According to Bureau of Immigration NAIA Terminal 3 Head Bradford Allen So, Zare Bahari was excluded as she is the subject of a red notice from Interpol. So likewise disclosed that during the implementation of Zare Bahari’s exclusion, another Iranian national they later identified as Minbashi Moeini Morteza had then approached the Immigration arrival area. "Morteza was unruly. He was able to enter restricted areas at the airport, collect the luggage of Bahari, and sneak into the immigration arrival area to personally fetch his compatriot, surprisingly without an airport pass," So said. He added that Morteza's presence in the arrival area was a brazen case of security breach that they had to immediately report to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA). "Morteza and Zare Bahari were already causing a scene, and had to be forced apart by airport authorities, as Zare Bahari was screaming ‘Jesus kill you all Filipinos!’” So further shared. Morteza was reportedly then taken into custody by airport security personnel. Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente then expressed his dismay towards the incident. “Foreign nationals should respect our laws when they are in our country. Improper behavior and derogatory remarks gave the officer further reason to deny Zare Bahari’s entry,” he stated. He likewise requested airport authorities to conduct an investigation on the illegal entry of Morteza in the airport premises. “This is a clear security breach, and should not be taken lightly. We are deeply concerned as to how this person was able to enter the airport without inspection,” he added.

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Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente identified the alien as 71-year-old Katsumi Ohno, who was arrested last Sept. 30 along the service road in Roxas Blvd., Pasay City by members of the bureau’s fugitive search unit (FSU). Morente said the arresting agents were armed with a warrant of deportation which he signed pursuant to a deportation order that the Bureau of Immigration board of commissioners issued against the Japanese on June 20, 2019.

Ohno’s deportation was reportedly sought by the Japanese embassy last February when it informed the Bureau of Immigration about a standing arrest warrant for fraud that a Japanese court issued against him. “We also learned that his passport already expired in November last year, making him an undocumented alien,” Morente said. He added that Ohno has been included in the immigration blacklist to prevent him from returning to the Philippines. Investigation also revealed that Ohno has been hiding in the country for nine years or since April 10, 2011 when he arrived as a tourist via a flight from Hongkong. Ohno is currently detained at the Bureau of Immigration jail in Bicutan, Taguig City.

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The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced the deployment of 67 newly-hired immigration officers to the country's international airports after graduating on Wednesday, October 2. According to Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, this is part of the agency's continuous efforts to improve its services to the travelling public. "The graduation of the officers is timed prior to the projected influx of passenger in the airport in the next few months for the upcoming South East Asian Games, and at the same time as the holiday rush begins," Morente said.

Morente said that the new recruits underwent the Border Control Officers Module (BCOM), a six-month long training designed to teach immigration laws, rules, and procedures. "The 67 graduates, which consist of 38 females and 29 males, were divided into two classes. They began training at the Philippine Immigration Academy in Clark Pampanga last April. After three months, they were assigned at the airports and the Bureau of Immigration's main office for another three months as on-the-job trainees," Morente said. Morente further shared that aside from the usual lectures, it is the first time that they have included Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Response seminar in the program. "This kind of training adheres with the changing times. We want our officers to be fully prepared in the field even during emergency situations," he said. The Bureau's Port Operations Division (POD) Chief Grifton Medina likewise disclosed that as part of their continuous effort to address the problem of congestion in our airports, all graduates have signed a lock-in contract with the POD stating that they will be deployed in our ports for a minimum of two years. "We want the concept of genuine public service to be inculcated in our front-liners. We need them to be committed mentally and physically to the job," Medina added.

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The Bureau of Immigration (BI) urged aspiring Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to avoid human traffickers and illegal recruiters who would prey on their vulnerabilities, after the agency uncovered the recurrence a modus operandi of a syndicate that houses and trains its victims at safe houses before deployment abroad. Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente issued the reminder after two women were recently barred from leaving the country for misrepresenting their age and narrating their experience with the syndicate that recruited them. The women had alleged that they were kept by their handlers in a safehouse in Paco, Manila for two months before they were booked for their flights.

Morente instructed the bureau’s port operations division (POD) and travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) to conduct strict profiling and inspection of departing passengers to ensure that no underage OFWs are able to leave. According to Bureau of Immigration POD chief Grifton Medina, the two women, aged 19 and 20, were intercepted last Sept. 21 at the NAIA terminal 2 in their attempt to board a connecting flight from Dubai to Saudi Arabia. Medina said the passengers both presented valid passports, visas, job contract, and overseas employment certificates but the birth dates in their documents were intentionally altered to make it appear that they meet the age requirement for Household Service Workers which is 23 years. “Both women initially claimed that they were 26 years old, but eventually admitted their real age upon questioning,” Medina said. Bureau of Immigration-TCEU chief Timotea Barizo said that the women recounted how they were housed for two months at a safehouse in Manila where they were briefed and taught by their recruiters how to respond to questions from immigration officers. “We've heard this in the past, usually victims would be briefed a few days before their flight. But now they're actually housed for months to train on how to evade immigration questioning," said Barizo. "The two victims admitted that their documents were given only prior to departure, and that they were told to open it only after check in. This forces them to go on and comply with the scheme despite the discrepancy since they are already there,” Barizo said. Morente reiterated his reminder to OFWs not to fall prey to these schemes. "Transact only with legitimate agencies accredited by the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration)," he reminded.

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Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente disclosed that 71-year-old Alfons Hermann Keittl was arrested last Thursday in Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental by operatives from the bureau’s fugitive search unit (FSU). Morente said Keittl’s deportation was sought by the German embassy in Manila which informed the Bureau of Immigration about an arrest warrant that a local court in the town of Landshut, Germany issued against the fugitive last July.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) urged aspiring Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to avoid human traffickers and illegal recruiters who would prey on their vulnerabilities, after the agency uncovered the recurrence a modus operandi of a syndicate that houses and trains its victims at safe houses before deployment abroad. Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente issued the reminder after two women were recently barred from leaving the country for misrepresenting their age and narrating their experience with the syndicate that recruited them. The women had alleged that they were kept by their handlers in a safehouse in Paco, Manila for two months before they were booked for their flights.

Morente instructed the bureau’s port operations division (POD) and travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) to conduct strict profiling and inspection of departing passengers to ensure that no underage OFWs are able to leave. According to Bureau of Immigration POD chief Grifton Medina, the two women, aged 19 and 20, were intercepted last Sept. 21 at the NAIA terminal 2 in their attempt to board a connecting flight from Dubai to Saudi Arabia. Medina said the passengers both presented valid passports, visas, job contract, and overseas employment certificates but the birth dates in their documents were intentionally altered to make it appear that they meet the age requirement for Household Service Workers which is 23 years. “Both women initially claimed that they were 26 years old, but eventually admitted their real age upon questioning,” Medina said. Bureau of Immigration-TCEU chief Timotea Barizo said that the women recounted how they were housed for two months at a safehouse in Manila where they were briefed and taught by their recruiters how to respond to questions from immigration officers. “We've heard this in the past, usually victims would be briefed a few days before their flight. But now they're actually housed for months to train on how to evade immigration questioning," said Barizo. "The two victims admitted that their documents were given only prior to departure, and that they were told to open it only after check in. This forces them to go on and comply with the scheme despite the discrepancy since they are already there,” Barizo said. Morente reiterated his reminder to OFWs not to fall prey to these schemes. "Transact only with legitimate agencies accredited by the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration)," he reminded.

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