FILE PHOTO: Bureau of Immigration (BI) logo and building facade. INQUIRER / ALEXIS CORPUZ
Officers of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) have arrested 37 Chinese nationals allegedly engaged in the retail trade business illegally in Para帽aque City.
BI intelligence division chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. reported that the seven female and 30 male Chinese nationals who had entered the country as tourists were apprehended inside the Multinational Village on Tuesday afternoon.
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They were discovered to be illegally involved in the sale of food and grocery products and employed in restaurants in the area. They had no working visas.
Also called prearranged employment visas, the working visas issued by the Philippine government to foreign nationals are company- and station-specific.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco had earlier said that foreign nationals who possess a working visa but are found to be petitioned by fake companies or caught working in other locations could be deported.
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The 37 Chinese will be detained at the BI鈥檚 facility inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City, pending resolution of the deportation cases to be filed against them, the BI said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to Tansingco, the arrests stemmed from intelligence information sent to his office about foreign nationals illegally engaging in retail activities inside the subdivision.
鈥淭his operation is part of our ongoing efforts to uphold the integrity of our immigration laws and protect local businesses from unfair competition,鈥� he said.