Sans working visas, 2 LIA execs nabbed

Two top foreign officials of Laoag International Airlines (LIA) were arrested yesterday for working in the country without the required working visa, the Bureau of Immigration said yesterday.

Arrested were Paul Ng, a Malaysian, who chairs the LIA board of directors, and Jimmy Tan Chui, an Australian, who also sits on the board and works as the airline’s chief mechanic, according to Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo.

Ng was apprehended at the LIA’s main office in Laoag City by the bureau’s local intelligence agents, while Tan was arrested at the hangar of the Laoag airport.

They were arrested on the strength of a mission order issued by Domingo last Thursday, hours after they and two Filipino pilots of the ill-fated LIA Flight 585 were placed in the immigration watchlist to prevent them from leaving the country.

Domingo ordered the arrest of the two LIA officials after investigation showed that both "failed to secure the proper work permits from the government while gainfully employed in the country."

She added that the LIA officials’ failure to obtain work permits was a blatant violation of the condition of their stay in the Philippines.

Immigration records show that Tan entered the country as a tourist, while Ng is a holder of a resident visa for being married to a Filipina.

Domingo, however, said that Ng’s resident visa does not permit him to work without first getting an alien employment permit or certificate of residence for pre-arranged employees from the Department of Labor and Employment.

Ng’s lawyers are working for his immediate release because of an undisclosed illness which might be aggravated by his detention.

LIA spokesman Alvin Manuel Yater said Ng’s arrest on the strength of a declaration by immigration officials that he is an undesirable alien — one who is working without a permit — came as a surprise.

"Our lawyers are aghast that Ng had been declared an undesirable alien when the requisite conditions for a person to be declared as such apparently do not exist for our chairman," Yater said.

He added that for someone to be declared an undesirable alien, he or she must have been convicted of a criminal case. "Ng has had no convictions, since, to start with, no cases criminally or civilly had ever been filed against him," he said.

Yater explained that Ng should not have been arrested for allegedly working without a permit since Ng is an investor and sits on the LIA board. He claimed that "the law does not require someone like Ng to secure a working permit."

Ng also has "serious medical conditions" that might be aggravated by his detention.

"Though I cannot reveal the nature of our chairman’s illness, let me caution (immigration) officials that they should hold themselves responsible if something happens to Ng while in their custody," Yater said.

He added that foreign investors would think twice before investing in the Philippines, with the many conditions inimical to businessmen and entrepreneurs existing in the country, including the harassment of legitimate investors.

Yater also said he had no information about the immigration status of either executive.

Ng has been living in the country as a permanent resident for the past 15 years and was close obtaining Philippine citizenship, said LIA spokesman Alvin Manuel Yater.

Tan serves as the company’s engineering consultant, Yater said, but he did not know how many years Tan had been working in the country.

The watchlist order, according to Domingo, was issued upon the request of Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Arturo Valdez, who heads the fact-finding committee tasked to investigate LIA Flight 585’s crash last Nov. 11, which killed 19 of 34 passengers and crew.

Valdez sought the watchlist order to ensure the presence of the two LIA officials and the two pilots while the committee’s investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, residents and government officials of Laoag, Ilocos Norte defended Ng, whom they described as "a man who, more than anyone else, has done a lot for the people of Laoag," according to a statement issued by LIA.

The Laoag officials and residents challenged anyone to go to Laoag and ask who Ng is so as to disprove derogatory statements made against him.

Vicente Teng, a farmer from Barangay Cabungaan, said farmers like him and fishermen working in the vicinity of the Laoag International Airport "continuously" benefited from financial and livelihood assistance from Ng.

In what should have been a straightforward investigation of the Flight 585 crash, Teng said "politics has entered the picture, that is why there is character assassination. They should come to Laoag to know the real score."

Northview Hotel owner Sherwin Santiago said Ng "has helped a lot of people in terms of giving out scholarships, employment and financial assistance."

He added that through the years, Ng has put his planes at the disposal of the community, especially during times of emergency, without asking to be paid.

Laoag City councilor Yvonne Ranada said that while people in Laoag are "in mourning, (they realize) accidents do happen."

Another Laoag official, who requested anonymity, said that investigating government agencies should be allowed to finish their probe of the crash before any speculations are made on the issue.

"To heap the blame on one person, whether it be the operator of the airline or the pilot, is unfair at this point in time when nothing definite has come out of the investigation," the official said.