8,000 foreigners from Muslim states overstaying in Mindanao

Some 8,000 foreigners from Muslim nations are allegedly overstaying in Mindanao, leading the government to believe that they were supporting local groups wanting to establish a separate Islamic state in the country’s southern region.

Immigration records obtained by The STAR revealed that the 8,000 were remnants of the 14,000 Muslim tourists who went to Mindanao from January last year to May this year.

The tourists had visas that allowed them to stay in the country for a maximum of 59 days, but most of them had been able to extend their stay for more than a year.

Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo said many of these tourists were using missionary visas to prolong their stay in the country. However, she has strong doubts on these tourists’ real work which she ordered investigated.

"They may not be missionaries in the true sense of the word," she said.

Domingo added that many of the Muslim tourists came from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Syria, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and some from Iraq.

The Bureau of Immigration has received reports of sightings of foreigners in Mindanao, particularly in areas where government soldiers are clashing against Muslim rebels.

The reports hinted that the foreigners were lending support to Muslim guerrillas, giving them guns and money and training them in the art of war.

The government is busy pursuing members of the Muslim terrorist group Abu Sayyaf in certain areas in Mindanao. The group, which is notorious for kidnapping people and demanding exorbitant ransom, abducted 17 Filipinos and three Americans last month in a resort in Palawan island in southeastern Philippines.

To remedy the present situation, the bureau is conducting a manhunt for all overstaying aliens, particularly those from Muslim countries. It has also raised its guard at different entry points, subjecting arriving Muslim tourists to strict inspection and lengthy interviews before allowing them to enter the country.

Yesterday, the immigration bureau refused entry to four Muslim tourists claiming to be missionaries from the United States.

Two of the four showed American passports while the other two had passports from Syria and Afghanistan. They arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on a flight from the US that passed through Japan.

When interviewed, the four said they would just be staying for a couple of weeks in Manila and go back to the US. But upon interrogation, they admitted that they were planning to go to Marawi and Lanao, both in Mindanao, to attend a gathering of Muslim missionaries.

Immigration officials informed the four of the ongoing conflict in Mindanao and that their visit to the island could be perilous. The four pretended they never knew, making senior immigration officer Rudy David suspicious.

The four were denied entry into the country.