4 Canada-bound illegal aliens intercepted at NAIA

FILE: Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 (Photo: 黒忍者/Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)

MANILA — Four illegal aliens were sent back to Hong Kong after they were intercepted by Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for conspiring to transit to Canada with fraudulent travel documents.

In a statement Monday, BI port operations chief Grifton Medina said the two Chinese and two Hong Kong residents were caught at the NAIA Terminal 2 on December 13 after they arrived aboard a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight from the Chinese autonomous region.

The Hong Kong residents were identified as Lam Mik Ho and Mak Hin Chun Adrian while the Chinese nationals were Chen Kaihui and He Chaorong.

They were apprehended when airline personnel who doubted their documents referred them to the BI’s travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) for questioning.

BI-TCEU chief Ma. Timotea Barizo, the Hong Kong residents were transiting in Manila, and were supposed to board their connecting flight to Toronto, Canada.

She said the duo checked in with the airline’s transfer desk upon landing, but airline representatives were surprised when the two Chinese nationals Chen Kaihui and He Chaorong, presented Hong Kong passports bearing Lam and Mak’s names.

“There were two sets of Lam and Maks who wanted to transit to Canada, both sets carrying the same documents,” the BI official said in a statement.

Upon forensic document examination, it was discovered that Chen and He presented fake Hong Kong passports, and merely assumed the identities. Chinese passports were later discovered in their possession.

Canadian authorities have canceled the electronic travel authorization (ETA) issued to Lam and Mak due to misrepresentation.

On the other hand, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente ordered the inclusion of the foreigners in the immigration blacklist.

“These undesirable aliens should be banned from entering our country. They have no right to use the Philippines as a jump-off point to enter other countries illegally. Let this serve as a warning. You will be caught,” he added.

After being sent back to their point of origin, the foreign nationals were also barred from re-entering the Philippines.