MANILA — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Thursday it was working closely with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to address cases of arrested foreign nationals who abuse the Philippine legal system to avoid deportation through the “demanda me” scheme.

Under the scheme, foreigners who are up for deportation file “frivolous” charges against themselves to indefinitely extend their stay in the Philippines while legal proceedings are ongoing.

"Matagal na po nating nakikita ito na inaabuso ng mga foreign nationals. Yung mga foreign nationals na nahuhuli natin who are illegal here in the Philippines, temporarily po inilalagak natin sila sa ating detention facility in Bicutan, Taguig. The thing is, hindi po natin pwedeng iimplement ang deportation kung meron silang pending na kaso dito sa Pilipinas,” Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said in a televised briefing.

“But some foreign nationals na nahuli they are abusing this by filing cases against themselves para ma-delay ang deportation kahit tapos na ang deportation case, dahil may pekeng, frivolous kaso na nakahain sa kanila na sila mismo ang nag-initiate ay hindi po ma-effect ang deportation.”

• BI reports arrest of foreigners using PH passport

Sandoval said the immigration bureau asked the help of the justice department for a list of foreign nationals with such pending cases.

“Sa ating records sa almost 300 foreign nationals in our facility in Taguig, almost half ang may pending cases here in the Philippines but not necessarily under the 'demanda me' scheme. Siguro half of them have filed cases against them and the thing is nagkokopyahan pa ang mga ito,” she said.

“When one of them hears na yung kasamahan nya doon ay nag-file laban sa sarili at na-defer ang kanilang deportation kokopyahin and they will hire the same set of lawyers.”

The BI said it was also working with the justice department to penalize Filipino lawyers who helped their clients through the "sue me" scheme.

“We are thankful for the support of the DOJ na ma-expedite ang resolution ng mga cases na ito para finally ma-deport na ang mga ito at magluwag na nang kaunti ang ating detention facility,” she said.