BI probes foreigners at anti-SONA rally

MANILA, Philippines - A Dutch man and other foreigners who allegedly took part in a rally during President Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) Monday are being investigated by the Bureau of Immigration (BI), an official said yesterday.

“We are verifying their identities and visa status and if there is basis to initiate deportation proceedings against them,” BI officer-in-charge Siegfred Mison said in a statement.

He identified one of the foreigners who allegedly took part in the demonstration as 30-year-old Thomas van Beersum, a Dutch activist who was photographed taunting a crying policeman at the rally’s dispersal line.

Pictures taken of Police Officer 1 Joselito Sevilla, who broke down and cried after refusing to strike back at the rallyists, went viral on social media.

Van Beersum’s insults at the crying Sevilla and his publicized open letter to the policeman drew angry reactions from the public and calls for his deportation.

The Dutch national arrived in Manila as a tourist last June 13 and was admitted for an initial stay of 21 days.

Mison said the alien protesters could be deported or ordered to leave the country if they commit acts that constitute “overthrowing the government, unlawful destruction of property and violation of the conditions of their stay.”

The foreigner could also be blacklisted and banned from re-entering the Philippines.

Mison explained that holders of temporary visitor visas have no right to join protest rallies because this is tantamount to meddling in the country’s internal political affairs.