2 foreigners stranded in NAIA for almost 2 years
Published January 16, 2021 12:26am Two foreigners have been stranded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for almost two years, according to a report on “State of the Nation.” The two Africans were identified as Emmanuel Josaiah Johnson from Liberia and Alain Njogho Acha from Cameroon. Johnson and Acha have been staying at the terminal lounge of the NAIA Terminal 2 since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic hit the country to avoid being infected with the illness. They arrived in the Philippines in April 2019. Johnson and Acha, however, failed to apply for asylum in the country, according to the Bureau of Immigration.
January 11, 2021
Two Africans have been stranded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 for nearly two years now.
They were identified as Johnson Emmanuel Josiah, 42, from Liberia, and Alain Njogho Acha, 32, from Cameroon.
According to airport authorities, the two Africans refused to go home for unknown reasons.
Acha arrived in NAIA terminal 2, on April 4, 2019, as a transit passenger from Bangkok after he was not allowed to enter Japan.
Josiah arrived on April 21, 2019, via Philippine Airline flight PR-383 from Guangzhou, China.
The two stranded foreign nationals are seeking asylum in the Philippines. However, the Department of Justice denied their request.
They are Johnson Emmanuel Josiah, 42, of Liberia, and Alain Njogho Acha, 32, of Cameroon.
(PHOTO VIA ARIEL FERNANDEZ/ MANILA BULLETIN)
(PHOTO VIA ARIEL FERNANDEZ/ MANILA BULLETIN)
They refused to go home for unknown reasons.
Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said they have turned over the custody of these two foreigners to the airlines.
Thus, Sandoval said, it is now the responsibility of the airlines to put them on the next flight to their country of origin.
The two foreigners filed an application for asylum but it was denied.
Josiah arrived on April 21, 2019 via Philippine Airlines Flight PR-383 from Guangzhou, China.