A total of 459 foreigners who were found to have obtained from "fake" companies their documents for visa applications will be blacklisted, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Friday, Dec. 1.
“The Philippine visa applications of these foreign nationals were processed using the services of accredited entities authorized to apply in behalf of the foreign nationals. However, through our audits, we discovered that the companies that petitioned them are spurious,” Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.
Thus, he said, the Philippine visas of these aliens will be canceled and those still in the country will be ordered to leave and they will be blacklisted.
Tansingco disclosed that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is now investigating at least 79 accredited liaison officers and four BI lawyers over their reported involvement in the irregularity.
He noted that the discovery of the scheme was cited in the three consecutive audit reports released by the BI’s Verification and Compliance Division (BI-VCD).
The audit reports were reported to the Department of Justice (DOJ) which made a commitment to assist in the investigation along with the NBI.
Tansinco said the audit was conducted after law enforcers raided several establishments which were found to be scam hubs and prostitution dens.