Immigration chief bans arrogant Briton from re-entering country

01/12/2009

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Marcelino Libanan has banned an arrogant Briton from re-entering the country for badmouthing immigration officers assigned to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Libanan issued the order placing Barry John Porter on the BI blacklist after receiving a report on the incident wherein the Briton allegedly exhibited rude and disrespectful attitude towards immigration officers when he arrived last Nov. 14.

“Foreign tourists should not malign and insult the dignity of our immigration officers because their entry and stay in the Philippines is not a right but a mere privilege,” Libanan said.

He added the Briton abused his privilege and the hospitality of his host country when he uttered defamatory words and hurled tirades at the immigration officers who processed him when he arrived in the country.

In his report to Libanan, DMIA immigration supervisor Rey Alfred Hernandez narrated that Porter was lining up for clearance at a special lane for arriving Filipinos and was thus informed by the immigration officers on-duty that he was on the wrong lane.

The immigration officers then politely requested Porter to transfer to another lane that was designated for arriving foreigners but the Briton allegedly refused and insisted that he be cleared on the lane where he had lined up.

The Briton also raised his voice and even asked arrogantly if the matter was all about money which drew the attention of other passengers.

When invited to the airport’s immigration office, Porter continued to insist that he should be cleared at the lane where he had queued and bragged that he has been a frequent traveler to the Philippines.

Hernandez said Porter only calmed down after he was warned that he is a mere tourist who could be turned back for his unruly behavior.

Porter was then allowed to enter the country and was handed his stamped passport but he again approached the immigration officers and called them “as____les” before hurriedly leaving the immigration arrival area. Conrado Ching

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