Pipol Power

In today's issue of Today newspaper, Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo warned once more that the Bureau of Immigration would not hesitate to order the arrest and deportation of foreigners taking part in protests against the visit of US President Bush to Manila. “Any antigovernment action is by nature a political activity, and such activity is exclusively reserved for Philippine citizens,” she said. According to Domingo, aliens who take part in mass actions can be deemed threats to national security, public order and the national interest, and can, therefore, be arrested and deported. Moreover, she said that under the Philippine Immigration Act, even the "belief in the overthrow of the government" can land a foreigner in jail in the Philippines.