Eight Chinese nationals employed by the Yinshu Mining Corp. and Din Shing Mining Inc. in Barangay Caradapan, Eastern Samar were recently arrested as the Bureau of Immigration (BI) launched a crackdown against foreigners illegally working in the country without the required work permits.
Those arrested were identified as Xue Guanghu, Enqing Xie, Lou Zheng Nan, Hong Bing Yin, Dong Chunhui Li Shaohua, Zuang Guangyu, and Mo Jiacheng, all from China, who were caught in the act of working for the mining firms but were not able to present their work permits.
Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said existing laws require foreigners employed in the Philippines to secure their alien employment permit (AEP) from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and working visa from the BI.
BI acting intelligence chief Lawyer Antonette Mangrobang said the bureau will step up its operations against illegally working aliens, especially in the provinces where their presence even in far-flung areas have been reported.
The BI official urged the citizenry to report the presence of suspicious-looking aliens in their respective localities so the bureau can immediately verify the immigration status of the foreigners.
The operation was carried out after informants tipped the bureau about the presence of foreigners who were allegedly employed at the mining firms without the required working visas from the BI.
