Chinese top list of rude tourists barred from Philippines

MANILA, Philippines —  Among the unruly foreigners in 2019, Chinese nationals were dubbed as the rudest to arrive at Philippine airports, based on statistics from the Bureau of Immigration (BI). 

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said immigration officers barred 180 discourteous aliens from entering the country in 2019, which is 47 percent higher than the 133 foreigners refused entry in 2018.   

BI airport operations records showed that among the unruly foreigners were 63 Chinese, or 35 percent of the banned aliens that also included 23 Koreans, 10 Americans, nine Japanese, eight Australians and five Britons. 

The BI has also stopped entry of four nationals each from Malaysia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Vietnam and three nationals each from Germany, Hong Kong, Israel and Switzerland. 

Two citizens each from Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Kuwait, Poland and one each from Austria, Bangladesh, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Oman, Russia, Taiwan, Turkey, Vanuatu and Yemen were likewise denied entry.

Morente said the erring foreigners were immediately sent back to their country of origin and automatically blacklisted and declared undesirable aliens banned from re-entering the Philippines. 

“We thus reiterate our warning to foreigners intending to visit the Philippines that they should refrain from exhibiting bad behavior that would make them undeserving to enter our country,” Morente said. 

The policy to stop erring foreign nationals stemmed from a memorandum order issued by former BI commissioner Andrea Domingo on March 29, 2001, which provides for the exclusion and later blacklisting of a disrespectful foreigner. 

Morente said that all immigration officers were instructed to observe maximum tolerance as he emphasized that they do not tolerate physical and verbal abuse from rude foreigners. 

BI port operations division chief Grifton Medina said most of the rude foreign nationals manifested bad behavior at the international airports in Manila and Mactan, Cebu. 

He said most of them were drunk, rowdy and unruly when they presented themselves for primary inspection upon entering the Philippines before immigration officers at the airport. 

“Others, although sober, were arrogant and discourteous. They would shout expletives and even make derogatory statements about Filipinos or the country,” Medina said. 

While he invites foreigners to visit the Philippines, Morente reminded them that their entry is a privilege, “thus foreign nationals should not verbally abuse or disrespect immigration officers and other symbols of the Philippines in any of the country’s port of entry.”

The BI has reported the arrest of 421 foreign fugitives from January to December 2019 with Chinese nationals comprising 77 percent of the total number or 324, followed by 39 Japanese, 27 Koreans, 20 Americans, three Taiwanese and two Britons. 

The BI reported that 2,257 foreign nationals were arrested in the Philippines with Chinese nationals on top of the list at 1,577, followed by 66 citizens from Taiwan; 45 from Myanmar; 25 from India and 19 from Vietnam.