Paul Asi Taulava yesterday asked the Bureau of Immigration to defer the implementation of its order deporting the Tongan cager pending a re-hearing of his case to admit new documentary and testimonial evidence that will bolster his claim to Philippine citizenship.
In a six-page motion for reconsideration, Taulava requested the BI board of commissioners to stay the execution of its order deporting the Mobiline cager for his failure to prove his Filipino lineage.
Taulava asked the board to schedule another hearing "for the purpose of admitting newly-discovered documentary, testimonial and other evidence" in support of his claim to being a Filipino.
The BI ordered the deportation of Taulava last Feb. 7 for his alleged failure to prove his Philippine citizenship and ordered him to be blacklisted from the immigration list.
To support his motion for a re-hearing of the case, Taulava submitted a death certificate of his alleged grandmother, Ana Hernandez Mateaki, issued by the Tongan government in 1959 which shows that the latter was a Filipino citizen.
Taulava informed the board that some of his relatives are ready to take the witness stand to testify on the existence of the Hernandez clan in several towns in Northern Samar, adding the witnesses were not presented in previous hearings because it was only now that they were located and identified.
He further asked the board to assign a task force of immigration officials which will be sent to Northern Samar to take the testimonies and depositions of witnesses who can attest to his alleged Filipino roots.
At the same time, Taulava requested the BI to maintain a status quo and allow him to play for his Mobiline team in the PBA which begins its 26th season Sunday.
However, Immigration Associate Commissioner Linda Hornilla, a member of the BI board, denied Tauala's request to play.