The Philippines has deported 91 Chinese people the authorities said were working illegally in the country either in online gaming activities or illegal mining. The people were flown to Shanghai, China, from Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila on Friday, said the Bureau of Immigration in a press release.
Joel Anthony Viado, commissioner at the department, was quoted in the announcement as saying the deportees’ carriage aboard a Philippine Airlines service had been arranged by the Chinese Embassy, and that the diplomatic mission had assisted in the deportation process.
According to the bureau, the deportees were among Chinese nationals taken into custody during various interagency raids with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission. The action was against offshore-facing online gambling operations in the cities of Pasay and Parañaque in Metro Manila, as well as mining operations in Homonhon, Samar, in Eastern Visayas.
The bureau said some individuals netted in the raids remained in government custody due to pending court cases and other legal matters.
Mr Viado was quoted as saying: “We remain steadfast in enforcing our immigration laws. Those who abuse their stay in the Philippines and engage in unlawful activities will be dealt with accordingly.”
The report said the deportation of the individuals concerned was “spearheaded” by the bureau’s Deportation and Implementation Unit under its chief, Alexi Val Arciaga, in coordination with law enforcement agencies.
Mr Viado stated the action complied with a directive of the nation’s leader, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, to intensify the government’s campaign against illegal offshore gaming operations.
In December last year, there had reportedly been an “orderly” shutdown of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), after Mr Marcos said that category of previously-licensed gaming business would no longer be able to operate in the Philippines.
There have been reports since then of persistent attempts by some people – including foreigners – to continue such types of activity within the Philippines on an unlicensed basis, in defiance of the government ban.
