BI seeks Vietnamese who escaped NAIA security

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration is still searching for a Vietnamese man who arrived in the country last June 28 and slipped past immigration personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3), an official said yesterday.

BI Commissioner Siegfred Mison said they still have no leads on the whereabouts of Phan Tan Loc. He said they have written the Vietnamese embassy last month but received no response.

The BI is inclined to write a second letter to the embassy, seeking background information on Phan, Mison said.

The bureau previously reported that when Phan arrived at NAIA-3, he was placed in the exclusion area because the immigration officer who interviewed him was not convinced he was a legitimate tourist – he gave inconsistent statements, could not disclose his travel plans and did 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 Saigon, Vietnam, Mison said.

It was during this time that Phan managed to leave the exclusion area and disappear. 

Phan was supposed to be sent back to Saigon on the grounds of “public charge” or someone who would become a burden to the society.  

The BI Board of Discipline is now reviewing the case of its six airport-based personnel to determine if there were lapses in the procedure that allowed the foreigner to flee.