The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has apprehended a Korean fugitive who allegedly attempted to flee the country by assuming a false Filipino identity.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco disclosed that 26-year-old Na Ikhyeon was intercepted at Clark International Airport in Angeles City, Pampanga on May 31, before boarding a Cebu Pacific Airways flight bound for Hong Kong.
The arrest was made based on information from the Interpol office in Manila, which identified Na as a wanted criminal in Korea for his alleged involvement in large-scale fraud cases.
Na had assumed the name of a certain Rodingo Santos Chun and presented a counterfeit Philippine passport to the immigration officer at the departure counter.
The immigration officer became suspicious upon noticing glaring irregularities in the passport's biopage, rendering it unreadable when scanned.
Na, however, could not speak Filipino or any local dialect.
Forensic analysis conducted by the BI's laboratory confirmed the counterfeit nature of the passport.
During questioning by the BI's border control and intelligence unit, Na voluntarily surrendered his South Korean passport, which was found to be among the Interpol's invalidated travel documents.
Na is currently detained at the BI warden facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City and will be subjected to deportation proceedings.