MANILA — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday urged condominium building owners to report foreign tenants who may be involved in illegal activities within their areas.
BI commissioner Norman Tansingco said the plea came after a Senate panel revealed that condominium units in Metro Manila were being used to house crytocurrency scam operations.
“Both local law enforcement agencies and the BI have difficulty simply entering condominiums, as these are residential areas, unlike offices of companies,” he said.
Tansingco said condo building owners also play a role in fighting trafficking in the country, and are responsibile to report any illegal activities in their area to concerned agencies.
He further warned condo building owners that failure to report such activities could be considered harboring illegal aliens, a criminal offense under the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940. Violators of this law may face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
“If there are illegal aliens in your vicinity, report them to immigration, or to the local law enforcement agencies,” said Tansingco.
“Protectors of aliens doing illegal activities in the country are also liable by law,” he said.
ANC, ANC promo, Bureau of Immigration, BI, Norman Tansingco, cryptocurrency scam