THE Bureau of Immigration is ready to deport any foreign national involved in the illegal drug trade upon orders from the courts or the Department of Justice.
This is the reaction of Bureau of Immigration chief Siegfred Mison after reports surfaced of the alleged entry of the Sinaloa drug cartel, reputedly the biggest drug syndicate in the world based in Mexico.
Mison says that the bureau is in constant touch with the International Police or the interpol. The Interpol provides the bureau of information on foreign nationals with criminal records in their home countries or those included in the watch list of countries.
Those on the watchlist or with criminal records are automatically disallowed from entering the Philippines. They are immediately kept in custody while waiting for summary deportation proceedings against them. Diplomatic officials are alerted of the presence of the subject foreign national. Foreign nationals with criminal records are apprised of their rights and are given counsel by their own diplomatic representatives.
Persons included in the international watchlist, such as members of international drug syndicates or terrorist groups are taken into custody until their turn over to the proper authorities, Mison adds.
The board of immigration is the body tasked by law to determine whether to deport a foreign national or not.
Immigration officers are trained and always on alert especially during the holidays when a big influx of foreign visitors and balikbayans are expected to fill most airports and seaports in the country.
Mison warns foreign nationals who are involved in illicit activities most especially drug trafficking to immediately stop their activities or face the full force of the law.
“ Consistent with our “good guys in, bad guys out” policy, foreign nationals who want to stay here in the Philippines must respect our laws; otherwise, they face the consequences of their actions. Drug traffickers are unwelcome in our country. They are a scourge of every country in the world,” says Mison.
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