MANILA, Philippines - A Vietnamese traveler escaped immigration officers who detained him at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) over the weekend and remains at large, an official said yesterday.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Siegfred Mison said they are coordinating with the Vietnamese embassy to establish the background of Phan Tan Loc, who arrived at the NAIA Terminal 3 last June 28.
“We already consulted and coordinated with the Vietnamese embassy, asking for additional information regarding the person and reporting that he was able to have access to our country without passing through the proper immigration formalities,” Mison said.
Phan, upon arriving at NAIA, was placed at the exclusion area because the immigration officer who interviewed him was not convinced that he was a legitimate tourist since he gave inconsistent statements, could not give his travel plans and could not mention where he would be staying.
It was also later discovered that he falsely claimed that he had a Filipina girlfriend.
An immigration officer who took custody of Phan reportedly turned him over to a colleague since he had to attend to another passenger. The BI was at that time still coordinating with the airline he used to send him back to Vietnam, Mison said.
It was during this time that Phan managed to leave the exclusion area and disappear.
Mison said Phan was supposed to be sent back to Saigon after he was assessed to be a “public charge” or someone who would become a burden to the society.
The purpose of Phan’s visit became more puzzling after the BI learned that upon arriving in Manila he was supposed to have a connecting flight to a province in the Visayas but the initial information they received is that he did not use the connecting flight ticket, Mison said.
So far, there has been no report that Phan has a criminal record, Mison said, adding that the Vietnamese is not included in the BI’s blacklist.
As for the lapses on the part of some BI employees, Mison said he has asked three employees from the intelligence division and three other employees from the airport operations division to submit a report on the incident within the week.
Mison said they will also review footage taken by surveillance cameras to determine who is at fault. He said those responsible for Phan’s escape could be charged with gross neglect of duty or grave misconduct and dismissed from the service.
The six employees have not been suspended and continue to work at the airport.