Elderly Aussie prof says no basis to bar him from entering PHL

The elderly Australian professor held for days at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Monday said the Philippine government has no basis to ban his entry to the country.

Gill Boehringer, 84, denied he attended a protest rally in 2015, the charge maintained by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in ordering him sent back to Guangzhou, China, his port of origin, once medically cleared for flight.

The professor, who is married to a Filipina, added that he did not join a rally in 2015, explaining instead that he went on an educational trip to a primary school for indigenous (lumad) children in the forested mountains of the Caraga region.

"I believe there is no basis for my exclusion from the Philippines in what was an educational experience for myself, the others who traveled with me into the mountain district, and also, I like to think, for those we met with there," he said in a statement forwarded to the media by human rights watchdog Karapatan.

Boehringer arrived in the Philippines last Wednesday and has been under airline custody since, having been refused entry due to his inclusion in the government blacklist for allegedly joining a rally —  a prohibited act for foreigners as per BI rules — in November 2015.

The BI turned down his lawyers' request to lift the exclusion order against him even despite concerns over his health.

A check with the BI revealed he is still at the NAIA.

Terrorist? 'Preposterous'

Boehringer also denied supporting "communist terrorist groups," as he claimed has been alleged by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA). "That is preposterous," he said.

"It seems that in the Philippines today almost anyone can be labelled a terrorist or in association with terrorists. I deny the accusation. I certainly am not a supporter of terrorism from whatever source," Boehringer said.

Instead, he urged the government to recognize him as an individual who has visited the Philippines "over many years with no subversive intent," one who has sought through public dialogue "to aid in the maintenance of the rule of law and the structures and processes of democracy."

While he admitted that he has been a critic of some of the policies of three administrations since serving as international election observer in 2007 and 2010, he said these were not terrorist acts.

"Are those the activities of a terrorist? Surely not. Rather they might more appropriately be considered an attempt to make a rational contribution within the vibrant national discourse about how democracy can be strengthened, the rule of law protected and social justice ensured," he said.

He said he has instructed his lawyers to challenge allegations and seek the lifting of the blacklist, watchlist and exclusion order against him.

"He may always file for a request for lifting of his blacklist," BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said in response. "If he submits sufficient proof to reverse blacklist, it may be lifted accordingly."

According to his bio on the Athens Institute for Education and Research website, Boehringer has taught and researched in universities in the United States, Northern Ireland, England, and Tanzania. He was formerly the head of the law school of the Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

Karapatan earlier said Boehringer has campaigned on human rights issue, including the plight of the indigenous peoples of Mindanao, since the Arroyo administration. —KBK, GMA News