15 alien fugitives deported from PHL in July-Dec. 2010

Fifteen foreigners wanted in their respective homelands for various crimes — from military desertion to murder — were arrested in the Philippines and subsequently deported in the last half of 2010, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported Tuesday. The figure is almost double the eight alien fugitives deported in the first half of 2010, according to Immigration officer-in-charge Ronaldo Ledesma, saying the arrests were due to the bureau’s stepped up campaign against foreign fugitives in the country. Eleven Americans topped the list of deported fugitives from July to December, followed by two Koreans, a Swede, and a Japanese. The crimes committed by the fugitives in their country of origin include child molestation, incest, sexual battery, embezzlement, fraud, murder, aggravated robbery, and military desertion. Ledesma, who was appointed to his post in July last year by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, said the fugitives are now either undergoing trial or serving sentence in their countries of origin. The BI is an attached agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Ledesma said the wanted aliens, hiding in the Philippines for years to evade prosecution, were arrested by the BI-Interpol unit. They were blacklisted as undesirable aliens and banned from re-entering the country. “Our country should not be used as a sanctuary for wanted criminals," Ledesma said as he vowed to pursue without letup the campaign against foreign fugitives. He said the bureau will continue working with the Interpol and other foreign missions in Manila to track down alien fugitives believed to be hiding in the country. BI Intelligence chief Faisal Hussin attributed the successful drive against fugitives to Ledesma’s move of beefing up the manpower and resources of the bureau’s Interpol unit by adding at least six intelligence operatives. The unit was also placed under his direct supervision. It was previously under the office of the commissioner. An team led by BI intelligence officer Jerome Gabionza was also created within the unit for case buildup, surveillance, and arrest of fugitives. - KBK/VS, GMANews.TV