Chinese illegals arrested

EIGHT Chinese nationals were nabbed by Immigration agents as part of the agency’s crackdown against foreigners illegally working in the country. The foreigners were employed in two mining sites in Eastern Samar without the required work permits.

Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said the aliens were arrested by Immigration intelligence operatives inside the compounds of the Yinshu Mining Corp. and Din Shing Mining Inc. in Barangay Caradapan, Eastern Samar.

David said he issued the mission order for the operation after informants tipped the bureau about the presence of scores of Chinese nationals who were allegedly employed at the mining firms without the required working visas from the BI.

Those arrested were identified as Xue Guanghu, Enqing Xie, Lou Zheng Nan, Hong Bing Yin, Dong Chunhui Li Shaohua, Zuang Guangyu, and Mo Jiacheng.

He added that the eight arrested Chinese nationals were all caught in the act of working for the mining firms but were not able to present their work permits.

Existing laws require foreigners employed in the Philippines to secure their alien employment permit from the Department of Labor and Employment and working visa from from Immigration.

“We will continue to go after these illegally working aliens. Their presence here deprives our Filipino workers of much needed job opportunities,” David said.

Lawyer Ma. Antonette Mangrobang, acting Immigration intelligence chief, said the operation was conducted after weeks of intensive surveillance on the activities of workers at the two mining firms.

Mangrobang said, the bureau will step up its operations against illegally working aliens, especially in the provinces where their presence even in far flung areas have been reported.

She urged the public not to hesitate in reporting the presence of suspicious looking aliens in their respective localities so the bureau can immediately verify the immigration status of foreigners. –Vito Barcelo, Manila Standard Today