PH deports alleged Al-Qaeda member, 43 others

MANILA, Philippines – The first two months of 2014 saw 44 foreign fugitives deported to their home countries, including an alleged member of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda.

In a statement released Wednesday, March 5, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said that deported fugitives were using the Philippines as a hideout. 

BI Commissioner Siegfred Mison warned foreigners with criminal records that the Philippines is not a “sanctuary” for foreign offenders.

Alleged terrorist Agus Dwikarna – convicted of illegal possession of explosives in 2002 – was deported to Indonesia after serving his 10-year prison term at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.  

“In view of the heightened security concerns and risks, the Indonesian Embassy issued a passport for Dwikarna. He was fetched by a charter plane with private security escorts from Indonesia when he was deported at the NAIA,” the BI said in a statement.

Covered by mission order and warrants of deportations, the 44 foreigners were arrested in 2013 by BI operatives in coordination with foreign embassies and local law enforcement.

“The successful deportation of these illegal aliens was the result of the marathon hearings being conducted by the bureau’s legal division, particularly the prosecution and legal assistance unit,” said Mison.

Among the notable fugitives deported are:

• Japanese fugitive Dobashi Masatoshi, 49, who was undocumented alien since July 1995, together with Ryota Ozeki, Masayuki Ozeki, Yushinori Makino, Ijie Makino, and Susumu Yoshimura 

• Glenn Allan Machlan, who arrested at the US Embassy in Manila in February 2014, has a standing arrest warrant from the court of Dallas County, Texas, for aggravated assault with a child less than 14 years old

• Philip Vaughn Cox, 53, who has two counts of rape in his hometown, was deported after his arrest in La Union, Zambales

• Frank Bernard McCright alias Clarence Alvin Davis; Donald Lloyd Warren; Richard Michael Chartier; and Rommel Rabara, all Americans who were accused of rape

Machlan, Cox, McCright, Warren, Chartier, and Rabara were included in the immigration blacklist and are banned from returning to the Philippines.

The rest of the fugitives were immigration law violators who were either overstaying, undocumented, working without visas and permits, or convicted of crimes.

According to the BI, among the deportees were 5 Korean nationals, 9 Indian nationals, two Taiwanese, one each from Malaysia, Canada, Egypt, Sweden, Sudan, and the Netherlands. – Rappler.com