Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed on Tuesday that three Chinese POGO bosses who were deported from the Philippines never arrived in China, raising concerns about loopholes in the deportation process.
The Escape Modus
Hontiveros, speaking at a Senate justice and human rights subcommittee hearing, exposed a deceptive practice where deportees purchase tickets with layovers and vanish during transit instead of reaching their supposed destination.
“They don’t buy direct flights, and then during the layover, they disappear like ghosts,” she said.
The three Chinese nationals—Lyu Xun, Kong Xiangrui, and Wang Shangle—were arrested in a POGO raid in Parañaque and ordered deported. However, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) admitted that they do not track deportees beyond their flight departure.
BI’s Defense and Loopholes in the System
BI Intelligence Division Chief Fortunato Manahan confirmed that the trio took an AirAsia flight with a layover in Hong Kong, but their final whereabouts remain unknown.
“We only ensure that non-fugitive deportees board their flights. If they were fugitives, they would be escorted or monitored by their embassy,” explained BI Legal Division Chief Arvin Cesar Santos.
Hontiveros criticized BI’s lax policy, pointing out that the goal of deportation was not achieved and warning that the three individuals could easily return to the country due to its porous borders.
“This is a deportation gone wrong. A simple BI operation that failed to meet its objectives,” she stressed.
Call for Policy Reforms
Hontiveros urged BI to revisit and tighten its deportation policies, particularly concerning POGO-related deportations, which she described as one of the government’s biggest security challenges.