Dutch who made SONA cop cry to be deported Aug 7

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – He couldn’t just leave; he would have to be deported.

Thomas van Beersum, the Dutch who joined a rally in protest of the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July, was prevented by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) from flying out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)  Tuesday morning, August 6.

Atty Tonette Mangrobang, spokesperson for the BI, told Rappler that Beersum had been on the bureau’s blacklist for visa violations.

A summary deportation order was issued against him on August 1, said Mangrobang. This means he will not be allowed to enter the Philippines again after he is allowed to leave.

After his deportation papers were processed late afternoon, Beersum told reporters: “I’d rather not say anything. My action is public knowledge.”

He has been booked for the next available flight on Wednesday, August 7.

“I just want to have some sleep while on board the plane bound for Netherlands,” Beersum said.

Beersum was holding a tourist visa to attend International Conference on Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines.

During his stay, he attended an anti-SONA rally on July 22 near the Batasan complex, where he was photographed confronting PO1 Joselito Sevilla, who had reportedly pushed rallyists away. The cop cried and photos and videos of the incident became viral.

“As a tourist, Beersum cannot engage in activities like that, which is contrary to the very nature” of his stated purpose for coming to the Philippines, Mangrobang told Rappler.

Beersum was lining up at the immigration area for his 8 am China Southern Airline flight CZ378. However, “upon scanning his passport, [it appeared] he was included in the black list,” the BI spokesperson said.

“A BI officer asked him to step aside as he needed to secure clearance from the BI before he would be allowed to get out of the country,” Rey Cortez of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), Beersum’s lawyer, told Rappler.

Beersum was travelling with his girlfriend. The girl was allowed to get on the plane.

As of posting time, Beersum was still at the BI intelligence office, where Cortez said he had not been allowed to enter to talk to Beersum “even after we invoked his right to counsel.”

Immigration intelligence officer Wilson Soluren said Beersum was held for questioning pending deportation. He was placed in the bureau’s blacklist as persona non grata.

Soluren explained to Beersum that he violated the condition of his stay as a foreign tourist when he engaged in political activities.

The bureau’s data revealed that Beersum, 21, had been admitted to the Philippines twice – on July 1, 2011, and on June 3, 2013. He was granted a 21-day tourist visa on second visit.

Soluren said that van Beersum applied his tourist visa at the Philippine embassy in Netherlands and was granted on April 8, 2013.

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) denounced Beersum’s detention, demanding respect for his rights and his immediate release. – Rappler.com