Corrupt Immigration Officer in Cebu

[oisilener1982]

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ORMOC CITY – Two young foreigners, one an American and another Australian, sailed from Panglao, Bohol to Brunei, some 16,000 kilometers apart, on a catamaran-like sail boat last February to raise at least 10,000-US dollars to build an additional dormitory room for the school for deaf children here.

Lee Duncan, special projects director of the International Deaf Education Association (IDEA) and his friend Scott Graham, who volunteers for the NGO also, started sailing last February 1 from Bohol and landed at Brunei on February 21. IDEA is a non-government organization which is based in Bohol and has since expanded its humanitarian mission to provide education to deaf children here in Ormoc and sometime soon, in Southern Leyte.

They were on board “Tambasakan” or “Mudskipper” in English, a sailboat which is described in the duo’s blog as catamaran-like sailboat “designed” by Lee Duncan in collaboration with a local banca maker and fisherman. Their blog entries at tambasakantales.blogspot.com are alternatively funny, sometimes touching and also harrowing.
Their 20-day sail was a tale of adventure which included encountering 5-meter high waves somewhere in Palawan, then paddling through still waters to gain only around a kilometer and a half in a day’s time, sail snorkeling at Tubbataha Reef, spending a night with the rangers there, dealing with Staph infected wounds that were treated by a lady doctor in Malaysia who even took them out on an expensive dinner and finally arriving in Brunei to sell the amateur-designed but tried-and-tested, if not historic, sailboat.
Despite the nobility of their purpose for the cause of deaf Filipino kids, the two were not spared with a run in with corrupt immigration officers in Cebu who demanded from them P50,000 or 1,000 US dollars. The two describe their encounter with them as “there are pirates among us”.

EVMAIL News

[gikapoy]

wala ko ka gets
pero kung ni sud sila sa pinas from malaysia or brunei with out passing through Philippine immigration kai murag considered man illegal entry.

[radiostar]

yup... withouth passing the local immigration bisan unsa na ka charitable they have no right to enter basta dile mo agi sa atong local immigration... mahug na silag illegal immigrant

[icon_king]

yup... withouth passing the local immigration bisan unsa na ka charitable they have no right to enter basta dile mo agi sa atong local immigration... mahug na silag illegal immigrant

sakto gyud ka bro ...illegal entry

[dairyman]

undesirable alien... hahaha

[oisilener1982]

Kung illegal immigrant pangayuan ba ug 50k?

[cebulifer]

did they bring their passports? hmmmm ngano man kuno $1,000 gipangayo?

[gikapoy]

Kung illegal immigrant pangayuan ba ug 50k?

bitaw noh. dapat ipa priso or ipa deport hehehe
ok rapud na ingon ana oi aron mo tagam nang mag sayon2x ug illegal entry
mo tagam kai mahal ang gi singil hehehehe

[cebulifer]

huwat sa ta unsay reaction ni gwen ani! hehehe!

[kevinworld]

grabeh bitaw ang immigration. Notice the sharp decline of Korean tourists lately?
Most Koreans came here with a packaged tour. They entered through Mactan Airport.
Nag agi ni sila sa immigration sa Mactan. How come they are also victimized by police and immigration personnel around the city. illegal daw ang entry nila. We let them in, then we catch them and threaten them once they are inside. Although sometimes, mag overstay sila. but nonsense ang dakop sa overstay tourists. we just let them pay penalty before they leave. We need to be tourist friendly to keep our tourism alive.