A male American was arrested by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for berating and physically assaulting a delivery rider in Cebu City recently.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that operatives from the BI intelligence division arrested on March 1, 2023 American Phillip Justin Bean, 43, inside his hotel room in Bgy Day-as, Zapatera, Cebu City.
It was learned that Tansingco had issued a mission order for Bean’s arrest after investigation revealed that the American is already overstaying in the country for almost a year, even as BI records reportedly showed that his last extension of stay was on April 7, 2022, thus he already overstayed his tourist visa by 11 months.
“He has no right to verbally and physically abuse a Filipino. His actions show that he is abusing the hospitality of our country. He should be deported for being an undesirable alien,” Tansingco said, in reaction to a video that showed what the American did to the rider and which went viral.
Tansingco also bared that Bean appears to be an illegally working alien as it was learned that he also works as duty manager for a bar in Cebu City without the required work permit and visa.
Bean will be included in the immigration blacklist to perpetually ban him from re-entering the Philippines, the BI chief assured.
