Dutch Activist Stopped at Philippine Airport

On July 22, Dutch national Thomas van Beersum participated and rallied with other anti-government activists outside the congress during Philippine President Benigno Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA). He was ready to board a flight to China on August 6 when he was stopped by immigration officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). Immigration OIC Commissioner Siegfred Mison said the 20-year-old activist was held in accordance with a deportation order issued against him last week. 20-year-old Thomas van Beersum during the SONA ng Bayan protest action in Nieuwmarkt, Amsterdam in 2012 Van Beersum was detained by immigration police and was questioned at the Bureau of Immigration. He was about to leave the country with his Filipino fiancée, who was permitted to leave the country. He refused to issue a statement when asked by local media and reporters. BI intelligence chief at NAIA Terminal 1 Wilson Soloren explained that Beersum had been enlisted as an “undesirable alien” by the BI board of commissioners and his name was included on the “Alert List Order.” Moreover, Beersum’s flight back home was rescheduled and he had to be cleared prior to his departure. According to his Facebook page, he left the country yesterday. In a TV interview, the young man said he arrived on June 5 and his visa stay was valid for 59 days; however, BI records confirmed that Beersum was holding a 21-day tourist visa and arrived in Manila on June 13. Beersum was recognized nationwide when he was pictured shouting at a crying officer who was watching over the demonstrators. But the accused denied the allegations and said he was only asking the police officer, Joselito Sevill, why they were assaulting the protesters. National Union of Peoples Lawyers Secretary General Edre Olalia expressed his objection on Beersum's detention, explaining that stopping Beersum at the airport did not have legal basis. “To hold him any further without a valid hold departure order or valid warrant of arrest is an open violation of international law which we certainly do not want our own fellow countrymen to experience aboard,” he said. Olalia added that Beersum must not be denounced of his right to convey his point and express himself. “Though he may seem ‘unpopular’ or ‘disagreeable’ to others who are mostly unwittingly agitated by the jingoist demonization of a young foreigner whose candid views and youthful zeal sincerely questioned government’s claims—even quite emphatically—the singular incident at the Sona rally obscures the real and more fundamental issues. Is he saying something that we should listen and look into?” Olalia said. Source: Inquirer Global Nation