MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government, through the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Bureau of Immigration (BI), deported on Tuesday, February 7, two of four Japanese fugitives involved in a string of robberies in Japan.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla personally led the deportation at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 on Tuesday morning. Remulla told reporters on Monday that the Japanese fugitives would be sent back at around 9 am via Japan Airlines. In a chance interview with reporters, he said the plane took off at around 9:40 am.

According to Remulla, Kiyoto Imamura and Toshiya Fujita would be turned over to Japanese authorities on Tuesday, while the other two – Tomonobu Saito and Yuki Watanabe – would be deported on Wednesday, February 8. Watanabe, also known as “Luffy,” is believed to be the leader of the Japanese fugitives behind the string of robbery cases.

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Since the courts have already cleared Imamura and Fujita of their local cases, the Philippine government was able to deport them. The Japanese government had also requested the deportation. Last week, the Taguig Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 116 dismissed the light threats case against Fujita, which paved the way for his deportation.

Meanwhile, the DOJ is still awaiting the court’s resolution clearing the two remaining fugitives. Saito’s and Watanabe’s charges are in relation to alleged violence against women and children.

Remulla also told reporters on Monday that the Japanese government was “happy” over the deportation. He added that the request to deport the fugitives was made as early as 2019 or under the previous administration.

“They are still happy that we are deporting. They are happy that we will be turning over the evidence. I think they are happy that it has come to this point already after four years. Ten days with the DOJ is not so bad,” he said.

The deportation took a long time because of various factors, including Remulla’s revelation that some lawyers use “invented cases” to deliberately hold the Japanese in the country. The lack of an extradition treaty between the Philippines and Japan also makes it harder to facilitate the deportation because cases against foreigners must be cleared first before they can be sent back.

As of posting, there were 15 Japanese under the BI’s custody. – Rappler.com