PNP has no power to check foreigners entering country

August 1, 2019

With the influx of Chinese tourists turned workers in the Philippines, the head of the Philippine National Police said they have no authority to check the foreigners staying in the country.

"It's up to the Bureau or Immigration to verify. The role of BID ( Bureau of Immigration and Deportation) is important here," Police General Oscar Albayalde said in an ambush interview on Thursday.

Albayalde said foreigners enter the country through airports which is handled by the Bureau of Immigration.

He said he is willing to give support to immigration officials if they will a1sk them to verify.

"Because when it comes to foreigners,  we have no authority to verify if their presence is legal or not," he said.

"We don't have authority to ask a travel document of a foreigner not unless they are involved in a crime," Albayalde added.

The chief PNP said it is the National Security Council who can determine if the presence of Chinese in the country is a threat or not.

"If they really see it as a threat, then we have our National Security Council to look into this," he said.

"The Chinese are everywhere... but some of them are involved in drug pushing so usually that's what we see," he said.

Albayalde said he cannot say if the situation is alarming since he does not have complete numbers of Chinese tourists entering the country.

"It's up to the National Security Council to evaluate that," he said.

On Wednesday, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said he consider the influx of Chinese tourist as "security concern" since some of them does not disclose their intention of coming to the country. Ella Dionisio/DMS