BI, SBMA arrest 6 undocumented Chinese nationals in Subic Freeport

The Bureau of Immigration (BI), in coordination with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), arrested six undocumented Chinese nationals at Trillo Bay Villas here on December 12, 2024.

According to the SBMA, the six were apprehended after BI officials, together with SBMA operatives, implemented mission orders to arrest the suspects inside Kim’s Apartment, a rented apartment inside the villa.

 

The six Chinese nationals identified as Yongfeng Huang, Guo Jun, Hong Xiaojun, Bai Shiping, Guo Shiquan, and Gan Ning, were arrested for violation of Rule 9, Section 1 of SBM-2015-010 for being undocumented. 

Huang was the only one who was able to present a passport. All six were taken to the BI head office in Intramuros, Manila where they will be detained while their case is being processed. 

The BI officials said that the arrested suspects were apprised of their constitutional rights under RA7438 “in the language they can fully understand and in a manner that they could fully comprehend.” 

Officer-in-Charge of the Office of the Deputy Administrator for Legal Affairs and Manager of the Labor Department Atty. Melvin Varias said that the six are among the 57 Chinese nationals who used to work for TeleEmpire Incorporated and were documented during their employment at the said accredited back office solutions provider in Subic Bay Freeport.

Of the 57 Chinese nationals who worked there, six of them returned to their home country, while 51 were unaccounted. Of the 51 unaccounted, 20 were arrested during a raid in Kalayaan at a house that was used as an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) facility. The recently arrested six were part of the 51 unaccounted employees. 

Atty. Varias added that the agency and the BI are in close coordination to ensure that all the undocumented Chinese nationals who worked for the said company will be documented and accounted for. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA moves to cancel work permit of Chinese Covid-19 patient

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said it will cancel the special work permit given to a Chinese national who was recently confined in a hospital here for Covid-19 infection. 

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said she has ordered the agency’s Visa Processing Office to cancel the Special Subic-Clark Work Visa (SSCWV) given to the Chinese patient because the holder has already resigned from work effective May 31.

“We’re taking this action because once a foreign national is no longer connected with a Subic-registered company, the employer must request for a downgrading of the employee’s special work visa,” Eisma explained.

“But in this case, his former employer was not able to notify the SBMA because of the quarantine, so we have to set the record straight now,” Eisma added.

Eisma revealed that the said Chinese national was the same 29-year old male Chinese that the SBMA had announced on August 7 as the latest Covid-19 case among guests and transient workers in the Subic Bay Freeport.

The announcement stirred some concern in the Subic community because the entry of tourists into the Freeport has been prohibited under Covid-19 quarantine rules.

Eisma said, however, that the Chinese patient was classified as a tourist or visitor by contact-tracers after learning that he had checked into a local hotel last June 6.

“The contact-tracers learned he was not a resident or an employed worker in the Freeport, so he was classified as a tourist. In fact, he voluntarily had his swab samples taken on August 5 because he needed it in looking for a job,” Eisma added.

The SBMA official said that further investigation into the case of the Chinese patient revealed that he first arrived in the Philippines in November 2018 to work as a customer service representative for TeleEmpire, a POGO service company in this Freeport.

Records from the Bureau of Immigration, meanwhile, showed that he briefly left the country on Oct. 12 last year for a trip to China and came back three days later. The patient said he visited his family at his hometown in Guangzhou, a city northwest of Hong Kong.  

The Chinese national had declared that aside for the 2019 trip to China, he had not left the Subic Bay Freeport because he “had no friends outside of the zone.”

He said he had resigned from the company effective May 31 because he had intended to return to China. But after looking into the availability and cost of air travel back to China, he said he had decided to stay in Subic and find another job here until the pandemic is over.

On June 6, he left the TeleEmpire guest house in the Freeport and checked into a local hotel together with a roommate, also a Chinese national. 

SBMA records indicate that the Chinese first secured a Special Subic Clark Work Visa (SSCWV) in February 2019 and had it renewed last March for another special work permit valid until March 2, 2022.

However, Eisma said this must now be cancelled because the Chinese national is no longer in the employ of any Subic-registered company.

Eisma said the SBMA will apply the same measure against the patient’s roommate, who had similarly resigned from TeleEmpire and was also looking for work. 

The patient’s roommate, who also took the RT-PCR test in preparation for a new job, has tested negative of the Covid-19 virus. (MPD-SBMA)

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LNG ship-to-ship transfer resumes in Subic, but ship crew won’t disembark

 

Ship-to-ship transfer operations of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has resumed in Subic Bay with the arrival here of a tanker over the weekend, but the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said the ship crew won’t be allowed to disembark due to health protocols observed in this time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the agency has made it clear that the officers and crew of LNG/C Methane Shirley Elisabeth, a tanker that will transfer her LNG cargo to smaller feeder ships, would remain on board all throughout the two-week operation. 

“No one from the ship can be allowed to come ashore, sadly not even the 16 Filipinos among the 31 crew members, because of the health measures we must observe,” Eisma said.

The same policy will be implemented for the crew members of feeder vessels that will transport the LNG cargo from LNG/C Methane Shirley Elisabeth to ports in China, she added.

Eisma described the resumption of LNG ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operations in Subic as a “welcome boost to the economy” but stressed that health safety should be a paramount concern for both ship and port personnel.

According to SBMA seaport manager Jerome Martinez, LNG/C Methane Shirley Elisabeth, which has a gross tonnage of 95,753 tons, has a carrying capacity of 142,800 cubic meters of liquid gas.

He said the Bermudan-flagged carrier originated from Qatar and dropped by at a Hong Kong port to pick up three mooring masters before proceeding to Subic.

The ship is expected to stay at anchor here until August 15 for STS operations.

Martinez also confirmed that no one among the crew would be allowed to disembark from the ship for any reason while it is in the Port of Subic.

He said that aside from the 16 Filipino crewmen, 15 other foreign nationals are on board the vessel. These include nine Greeks, two Croatians, two Ukrainians, a Romanian, and a Latvian.

Martinez also noted that upon arrival at the anchorage area outside of the bay, a team from the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) immediately boarded the tanker for health inspections and safety protocols, and followed by a boarding party composed of personnel from the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and Bureau of Immigration (BoI).

Following LNG/C Methane Shirley Elisabeth, another LNG carrier, the Singaporean-flagged LNG/C Lerici, will also conduct ship-to-ship (STS) transfer in Subic.

Eisma said the same health and safety protocols will be imposed by Subic authorities for Lerici’s STS operation. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:  

The LNG carrier Methane Shirley Elisabeth

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Pakistani terror suspect arrested in Subic

A Pakistani fugitive wanted for terrorism was arrested Saturday night in a joint operation by law enforcers in Subic, according to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente.

Morente identified the man seized in Subic Bay Freeport Zone as Malik Muhammad Sharif alias Sharif Ahmad.

“The 39-year old Sharif, who was born in Sialkot, Pakistan, is wanted in Islamabad, Pakistan for double murder, attempted murder, terrorism and rioting. According to the Interpol Red Notice, subject carries a sentence of death penalty in Pakistan,” Morente said.

Elements from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Army and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Police helped the immigration agents, particularly the BI's Fugitive Search Unit, in their operation.

According to Morente, the operation, which was coordinated with the Anti-Terrorism Council, is part of the BI’s target-hardening campaign.

Morente earlier declared Friday, when he took office, that the bureau will focus on, among others, tighter border control, considering the intensifying, more frequent terrorist acts around the worldwide.

BI, stressed Morente, must “secure Philippine borders by shoring up border control, especially our anti-terrorism and anti-crime efforts, to guard against the entry of foreign terrorists or criminal elements who may want to hide in the country to escape prosecution in their home country, or who might try to engage in lawless activities.”

He gave assurances such violent elements "will not be able to make our country their safe haven.”

Sharif's arrest is just the start of the stepped-up campaign against lawless foreigners seeking to use the Philippines as sanctuary, Morente said. “More arrests will be done in the coming days and weeks, targeting not only fugitives from justice but also foreigners who are abusing their stay in the country by continuing to engage in unlawful activities or who continue to violate our Immigration laws.” (Jaime Sinapit, InterAksyon.com)

http://interaksyon.com/article/129880/pakistani-terror-suspect-arrested-in-subic

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Philippines impounds North Korean ship under UN sanctions

The Philippines said on Saturday it had impounded a North Korean vessel in response to tough new United Nations sanctions introduced in response to Pyongyang's recent nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

The 6,830-tonne cargo ship Jin Teng will not be allowed to leave Subic port, northeast of the capital Manila, where it had been docked for three days and its crew will be deported, presidential spokesman Manolo Quezon said on state-run radio station Radyo ng Bayan.

It was the first reported case of the sanctions -- the toughest to date, which were adopted late Wednesday by the UN Security Council -- being enforced.

"The world is concerned over North Korea's nuclear weapons programme and as a member of the UN, the Philippines has to do its part to enforce the sanctions," Quezon said.

A team from the UN is expected to inspect the ship in the port, located near a former United States naval base, foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose said.

Jose told AFP the ship was impounded "in compliance with the UN resolution" and did not depend on the results of the inspections.

The Jin Teng, carrying palm kernels, was searched for the second time on Saturday, this time using electronic weapons sensors, coastguard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo told AFP, adding the 21 crewmen were "very cooperative".

Balilo said no explosives, drugs or banned substances have been found so far.

North Korea has no embassy in the Philippines. Its embassies in Thailand and Indonesia were unavailable for comment when contacted by AFP.

There are no other North Korean ships docked in Subic, according to the coastguard.

The Jin Teng arrived in Subic from Palembang, Indonesia Thursday afternoon, just hours after the latest sanctions were unanimously passed.

In response to the UN's move, Pyongyang fired six short-range missiles into the sea on Thursday, while North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ordered its nuclear arsenal put on standby for pre-emptive use at any time.

On Friday, the European Union also tightened sanctions against North Korea by adding 16 people and 12 entities to a list of some 60 individuals and groups who were hit with travel bans and asset freezes. (AFP News)

PHOTO:
The cargo ship Jin Teng will not be allowed to leave Subic port, where it had been docked for three days and its crew will be deported.

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Bureau of Immigration caravan in Subic Bay Freeport

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto V. Garcia (left) confers with Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Seigfred B. Mison during last Friday’s BI Caravan dubbed “Service Beyond the Metro” at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center. The BI caravan aimed to make available immigration services and transactions for foreigners in the areas of Zambales and the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto V. Garcia (4th from left) joins Commissioner Seigfred B. Mison (4th from right) and other officials of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) after receiving recognition during last Friday’s BI caravan “Service Beyond the Metro” at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center. The BI caravan aimed to make available immigration services and transactions for foreigners in the areas of Zambales and the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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BI agents collar Korean for duping fellow countrymen of millions of pesos

Immigration authorities arrested a South Korean for defrauding 14 Korean businessmen of millions of pesos in fake land and condominium titles in Subic Freeport, Zambales.

Kim Tae Wan was arrested near the Macapagal International Airport in Pampanga by immigration agents based on a warrant of arrest issued by Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan.

The suspect gave himself up to Immigration intelligence agents Irene Bello and Rommel Linatok without a fight and readily submitted himself for an investigation.

According to BI executive director Eric Buhain, Kim managed to convinced Ji Hyun Byeon and 13 others to buy land and condominium properties inside Subic Bay Free Port zone.

Kim represented himself as the owner of Subic Daesung Corporation that also operates the Subic International Hotel inside the Free Port.

But Kim turned out to have subleased the condominium and pocketed the money paid by the 14 Koreans instead of turning the payment to the Daesung Corp.

Kim is now detained at the BI detention cell in Bicutan and will be deported soon. He was also included in the bureau’s blacklist for being an undesirable alien. (Conrado Ching, Daily Tribune)

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No more need for visas for locators at freeports

Foreign locators at the Subic Bay Freeport and at the Clark Economic Zone can now enjoy a visa-free entry to the Philippines.

An agreement signed recently between the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and Clark Development Corporation (CDC) allows visa-free entry to foreign investors visiting the two free ports.

Under the agreement signed by BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan with SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza and CDC president Benigno Ricafort, officers and personnel of a foreign locator in the two freeports may now enter and stay in the country without a visa for a period of 14 days.

The privilege will only be extended to those arriving through the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) or the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA).

Arreza said the agreement will help attract more foreign investors to do business in Subic and Clark as well as send a signal to other foreign investors that the government is serious in courting more foreign investments that will create more jobs and improve the economy.

“More than the convenience that the agreement will provide foreign locators in Subic and Clark, the visa-free entry will encourage more investments from Taiwan – which is now one of the biggest in Subic – and invite other foreign investments to do business in the freeport zones,” Arreza said.

Libanan said the visa-free entry privilege for foreign locators in Subic and Clark is part of the BI’s ongoing thrust to attract more tourists and investors to the Philippines, aside from merely guarding against the entry of terrorists, transnational criminals and other undesirable aliens.

Aside from tightening the BI’s guard against the entry of undesirable aliens, Libanan introduced reforms, like cutting red tape and providing visa incentives to foreign investors to encourage them to visit and invest in the country.

The agreement provides that the foreign locator will vouch for their officers and personnel coming here and will notify the SBMA chairman or CDC president who will approve the grant of the visa-free entry privilege. (Jun Ramirez, Manila Bulletin)

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