DOJ: Why was Japanese trade unionist refused entry?

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice (DOJ) is checking with the immigration bureau why Japanese trade unionist Katsuhiro Sato was barred from entering the country.

Sato of the executive committee of JICHIRO, said to be Japan’s largest umbrella organization of local government unions, was subjected to deportation proceedings upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on February 12.

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said Sato was “held and put under deportation proceedings on a whimsical basis” due to his participation in a Manila protest in 2012.

The Japanese trade unionist joined an assembly that called for an end to the Asian Development Bank’s “one-sided policies,” said Tanjusay. Japan holds the largest shares in the regional bank.

“I need to verify that first and check the basis for the black list,” Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said in a text message to reporters. Labor groups have called on her department to revoke the immigration bureau’s order.

Nagkakaisa, a coalition of labor groups in the Philippines, tagged the incident as a “mistreatment” and called on De Lima to rectify the situation.

The group also called for a tripartite review of the criteria used in the qualification and manner by which a black list order is implemented.

“We condemn the unjust, irresponsible, grave abuse of authority, and gross violation of basic human right to free movement, free assembly and right to free expression committed by the Bureau of Immigration,” read the Nagkakaisa statement. “These abuses have no place in a Philippine society.” – Rappler.com