150 Vietnamese barred from Philippines in March – BI

MANILA, Philippines — At least 150 Vietnamese have been excluded from the Philippines for allegedly working in illegal online gaming hubs, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported yesterday.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the Vietnamese were denied entry in March by the Immigration-Protection and Border Enforcement Section or I-PROBES.

Tansingco said the BI conducted the operations amid the increase in Vietnamese nationals found to be working in illegal online gaming facilities.

The BI excluded a total of 220 foreigners, including 30 Chinese and 14 Indonesians, in March.

Tansingco said the foreigners were denied entry for violating the country’s immigration law.

He noted that the BI’s actions were not targeted at specific nationalities, but based on the scrutiny of travel patterns and alleged illegal activities of the persons.

The foreigners were blacklisted and banned from entering the Philippines again.