BI to deport 3 Nepalese students

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is set to deport three Nepalese students who allegedly entered the country without passing through the immigration area at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Dahal Pashupati, 29; Khadka Umesh, 24; and Yadav Pankaj, 19, reportedly arrived at the NAIA on April 7 but there is no record of their travel in the BI database. The three students’ passports reportedly had no admission stamps.

“Their claim that no one in the airport told them to clear with immigration is no excuse for them not to be punished for violating our laws,” BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said.

They later enrolled at the Southwestern University in Cebu City although they were only issued tourist visas by the Philippine consulate in Katmandu.

BI acting intelligence division chief Ma. Antonette Mangrobang said she is not discounting the possibility that the BI could have stumbled upon a scheme of recruiting foreign students by enrolling them in universities while the conversion of their status from tourist to student is being processed.

“They did not only elude inspection by our immigration officers. They also violated the conditions of their tourist visa by enrolling in a Philippine school without the required student visa,” Mangrobang said.