THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) said its officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) intercepted two Africans, a man and a woman, who attempted to enter the country by passing themselves as Canadian citizens.
In a report to Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco, BI Port Operations Chief Atty. Carlos Capulong said the two passengers arrived at the NAIA Terminal 3 last September 25, when they arrived aboard an Emirates flight from Dubai.
Capulong said the couple presented counterfeit Canadian passports to the immigration officers, who immediately suspected the authenticity of the said travel documents.
The male passenger was identified as Adraman Issa Mariam, and the woman as Halime Abba Souleymane, both nationals of the Central African Republic of Chad.
“Apparently, they attempted to conceal their true nationality in the belief that they would be allowed entry into the country without being subjected to strict inspection by our officers. They are wrong to assume that such documents can pass as legitimate,” Capulong said.
Upon learning of the incident, Tansingco ordered the inclusion of the two Africans in the immigration blacklist to prevent them from re-entering the Philippines.
“I commend our officers at the NAIA for a job well done. Due to their vigilance, we were able to frustrate the intentions of these undesirable aliens to gain illegal entry into our country,” the BI Chief added.
It was reported that the passengers presented Canadian passports which were noticed as doubtful due to many inconsistencies in the document.
The passports were forwarded to the BI’s forensic documents laboratory, which confirmed that the documents were indeed counterfeit.
The duo were outrightly excluded and booked on the first available flight to their port of origin.
