Bureau of Immigration Releases Statement On Offloading Issue
After receiving negative feedback from the gaming community regarding the removal of three Rave players from their flight to Korea by agents of the Bureau of Immigration (BI), as well as demands from Senator Benigno Paolo “Bam” Aquino to explain the reasons as to why the members of the Incheon-based Filipino team were not allowed to return to Korea, the immigration bureau published an official press release yesterday, April 6.
In their statement, the BI said that it “reminds Filipinos who are on a working visa” to secure “the necessary Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)” to avoid travel hassles.
Elaine Tan, a spokesperson for BI, said that “the three passengers traveling under Filipino passports carried Korean E-6 visas, which is a working visa issued for those who are seeking to make profit through entertainment, sports, and the like” are subject to the above-mentioned protocol.
The statement concluded by saying that the BI, in cooperation with POEA, is implementing the guidelines so as to make the process easier for the general public.
Korean-based Filipino team Rave was on their way back to Incheon, Korea to compete for two upcoming major international tournaments: Electronic Sports League (ESL) One Frankfurt 2015 and RedBull Battle Grounds when they were asked to disembark from their plane.
Read the full text of the press release here.
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