Japan deports 75 undocumented Pinoys — DFA exec

Japan over the weekend has deported 75 undocumented Filipinos, including eight children, for immigration offenses, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

 

A chartered flight carrying the Filipinos - 54 males, 13 adult females and eight children - arrived Saturday, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said at a press briefing.

 

Filipinos with serious medical condition and those who have existing family ties in Japan and currently with cases filed in court were excluded from the deportation, Hernandez said.

 

The 75 Filipinos were accompanied by Japanese immigration officials, a Japanese doctor and a language interpreter as well as a Philippine Embassy representative during their flight to Manila.

 

Foreign nationals who violate provisions of Japan’s Immigration Control Act undergo deportation procedures and those who refuse to consent to deportation are detained in immigration centers.

 

Filipinos are the 3rd largest immigration violators in Japan after South Koreans and Chinese, Hernandez said.

 

Prior to this weekend’s deportation, there were over 200 Filipinos in Japan immigration centers, constituting the highest number of foreign nationals in detention.

 

“Upon learning of the Japanese government’s decision to deport Filipino nationals who violate immigration laws, the Philippine government through our embassy in Tokyo immediately engaged in dialogue with Japanese immigration officials to ensure the safety and welfare and the humane and dignified treatment of Filipino nationals during deportation,” Hernandez said.

 

The embassy, he said, was able to negotiate for the exclusion of women and children from the use of handcuffs during deportation as well as the removal of handcuffs from the male returnees upon entry into Philippine airspace.

 

“It should be noted that the use of handcuffs is standard practice by the Japanese government during the deportation of foreign nationals and is in compliance with Japanese safety regulations,” Hernandez said.

 

Travel documents, meanwhile, were issued to those without valid passports for proper identification. — Michaela del Callar/RSJ, GMA News