334 improperly documented foreigners banned from entering NAIA

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration yesterday said that a total of 334 improperly documented foreigners have been prevented from entering the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said in a statement that a total of 334 people were rejected for having incomplete or spurious travel documents. Those who were turned back for other reasons, such as being included in the BI blacklist or watchlist, is not included in the 334 figure.

Foreign passengers may be considered improperly documented for various reasons, foremost of which are not having the required entry visa and failure to procure return tickets.

BI-NAIA chief Ferdinand Sampol reported that for bringing in the improperly documented aliens into the country, 22 airline companies were meted fines of P50,000 for each excluded passenger or a combined total of P17.2 million. He added that the tight screening of arriving foreigners at the NAIA is in compliance with the instructions of Libanan for immigration officers at the ports of entry to always be on the highest state of alert.

Moreover, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) assures the public that airport processes such as the implementation of the new Arrival/ Departure Immigration Cards are being continually improved and remain within acceptable standards. MIAA General Manager Alfonso Cusi, in a meeting with the Airline Operators Council and the BI yesterday agreed to put into place a more expeditious manner of distributing to passengers the new cards for them to fill up thereby addressing the initial queuing problem experienced during the first day of its implementation on Jan. 1. For inbound flights, the cards will be distributed upon disembarkation from the aircraft.

The AOC members are expected to ship out shortly to their Airline Headquarters the new cards packaged together with the Customs Declaration Form and the Quarantine Health Checklist so the same can be distributed to passengers on board the aircraft.

The MIAA stands by its commitment to pursue improvements that will make airport procedures and processes more passenger-friendly with the help of its industry partners from the public and private sectors.

Sampol said the only thing that Libanan wants is to be able to establish the fastest way to retrieve documents of bad elements in the country who use the Philippines as the jump point area of illegal activities thru the new arrival departure card.– Evelyn Macairan, Rudy Santos