Immigration bars entry of Australian professor

August 9, 2018

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Thursday it has barred the entry of Australian professor Gill Hale Boehringer.

In a statement, Immigration spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval confirmed Boehringer arrived in Manila past midnight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 from Guangzhou, China.

“He was excluded for being blacklisted,” she bared.  Sandoval detailed that Boehringer was the subject of an order issued last year prohibiting Boehringer’s entry upon receipt of a report and recommendation for blacklisting from government intelligence sources.

Boehringer participated in a rally in November 2015 which is “in clear violation of the BI Operations Order prohibiting foreigners in engaging in political activities in the Philippines”, said Sandoval.

Geneve Rivera-Reyes of the Health Action for Human Rights said Boehringer is 84 years old and has a history of an almost fatal pulmonary embolism.

"He is currently suffering from cellulitis on both legs. For humanitarian reasons, the BI should consider that it is not safe for Boehringer to be made to travel again without a medical specialist's clearance," said Reyes. DMS