A limited number of passengers pass through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City on December 22, 2020, 3 days before Christmas. The volume of passengers going to the provinces for the holidays drastically dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News
MANILA - Seventeen Chinese nationals were barred from entering the Philippines last Wednesday for failing to prove their purpose for travel, the Bureau of Immigration said Sunday.
Only foreigners with existing visas issued as of March 20, 2020 are allowed to enter the country.
Sixteen Chinese nationals came on board a Pan Pacific Airlines flight from Zhengzhou, China and said their travel was allegedly sponsored by a tech company in the Philippines, the bureau said.
The individuals gave "inconsistent statements" were unable to present relationship with their alleged sponsor, according to BI Intelligence division chief Fortunato Manahan Jr.
A Chinese man who came from Bangkok, Thailand was also intercepted for presenting documents inconsistent with his statements, the bureau said.
"Their purpose was very doubtful, and they gave conflicting statements, hence they were denied entry to the country,” Manahan said.
The bureau sent all 17 on the next available flight back to their port of origin and included their names in its blacklist.
Majority of the foreigners deported and arrested in the Philippines last year were Chinese, according to the BI.