THE BUREAU of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday deported 17 Chinese nationals who had been working in illegal offshore gaming companies.
In a statement on Wednesday, the BI said the foreigners will be barred from returning to the Philippines.
“Department of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla is closely monitoring the implementation of deportations and his department is regularly submitting reports on them,” Immigration Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco said.
The Chinese nationals boarded a flight back to Wuhan, China on Wednesday afternoon as part of the third batch of deportations relating to unlicensed online gambling activities.
The government has revoked the visas of more than 1,400 Chinese nationals working in these illegal offshore gaming companies whose licenses had been canceled.
In September, China said it would cooperate with Philippine law enforcement agencies in tackling crimes linked to illegal gambling outfits.
In another development, the immigration bureau arrested an Indian national last month in the northern province of Cagayan for overstaying in the Philippines
In a separate statement Wednesday, BI said the foreigner was arrested on Oct. 24 in Cagayan after it received a complaint about him operating a business without a visa.
The Indian national had been staying in the country for more than four years without proper documents.
“It is disappointing how some think they can easily evade the authorities in our country,” Mr. Tansingco said. “Nobody is above the law. Adhere to it or face deportation”. — John Victor D. Ordoñez