“CEZA has not authorized any of its operators to setup office or any of their operations in the Clark Freeport. It is very apparent that some foreigners are violating our laws. We will not tolerate that.”, DOJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II stated after obtaining a copy of the December 1, 2016 letter of Jose Mari B. Ponce, Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), addressed to Bureau of Immigration Commissioner, Retired General Jaime H. Morente.

The letter requested the Bureau of Immigration for a list of CEZA Working Visa (CWV) holders from among the 1,316 Chinese nationals who were arrested for working without the necessary work permits in Clark, Pampanga. The raid, personally initiated by Secretary Aguirre II himself was conducted by elements of the Bureau of Immigration  (BI)  and of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

“CWV holders are not allowed to work in offices not registered or authorized by the CEZA. Such a violation is considered a ground for the cancellation of the company’s registration and the CEZA Working Visa of the concerned expatriate”, added Secretary Aguirre II.

Yesterday, Secretary Aguirre has signed an order for the issuance of a look out bulletin  against gambling operator Jack Lam. Immediately thereafter, the BI, complying with the directive of Sec. Aguirre II canceled the investor’s visa of Mr. Lam.

“We are studying all possible cases that we can file to prosecute the parties responsible for this apparent disregard of our laws including, but not limited to, economic sabotage. The DOJ will be at the forefront of this pursuit of the perpetrators. Let this be a warning to all violators. Violate our laws, and we go after you!”, Sec. Aguirre II added further.