M/V Antonia 1
KOTA KINABALU: More than 3,000 travel documents have already been issued to Filipinos held at the four detention centres in Sabah to prepare them for deportation.
However, the Immigration Department here is unable to carry out deportation exercises due to unavailability of vessel to ferry the deportees to their homeland, according to a reliable source from the Philippine Embassy.
The source said the issuance of a special travel pass (yellow document) to Filipinos who violated immigration laws of the host country are ongoing despite the absence of a vessel to repatriate them to their country of origin.
“In fairness to our Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, consular staff continue to issue the much -needed travel document free of charge to Filipinos temporarily detained at the holding centres in Sabah,” the source said.
Not privy to release official statements, the source who requested anonymity said the embassy is closely monitoring the situation of the deportees.
It is learnt that an estimated 7,000 immigration violators are presently detained at the holding centres of which slightly over 3,000 of them have been issued with special travel passes.
“Initial number of illegal immigrants due for deportation is slightly over 1,000…however, only 800 deportees will be accommodated .
“M/V Antonia 1, the appointed vessel to ferry Filipino deportees from Sandakan to Zamboanga City is only designed to accommodate 800 passengers. Operator of the ferry service is still awaiting the final ‘green light’ from the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) in Zamboanga City before commencing the special voyage,” a source from Zamboanga City also said.
To be able to repatriate all the Filipino deportees from now until before Christmas, the source said Marina should allow the vessel to navigate at least 10 special voyages.
Last Monday, Sabah State Security Council Director Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof issued an official request letter to Marina in the Philippines seeking permission to allow M/V Antonia 1 to sail to Sandakan in Sabah to facilitate the deportation exercise of Filipino deportees as soon as possible.
The official request letter entitled ‘Application for M/V Antonia 1 to be released as soon as possible’ was addressed to Marina Vice Admiral Narciso A. Vingson Jr.
Copies of the official communication dated November 18, 2019 was also forwarded to Aleson Shipping in Zamboanga City and its appointed agent in Sabah.
As stated in the letter, Saleha said: “As has been informed, M/V Antonia 1 under Aleson Shipping has been used for deportation purposes for Filipino detainees in Sabah.
Therefore , we would hope your (Marina) cooperation in releasing the vessel as soon as possible as to ensure these people could go back home to their respective country.
“Any related issues, please allow us to handle it at our Malaysian country. Rest assured under the arrival and departure of the vessel has our blessing with a peaceful voyage.Therefore we hope you can release the vessel as soon as
possible. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Both the Sabah Security Council and Aleson Shipping have yet to receive official communication from Marina regarding the issue as of press time.
It is also learnt that the delay in issuing maritime clearance is due to a request from the shipping to allow the vessel to load cargoes during its return voyage from Sandakan.
“We need to load cargoes to maintain the balance of the vessel…it will be dangerous to execute the 18-hour sea journey if the vessel is not properly balanced,” an official from the management claimed.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal Wednesday said the State government had requested for leniency from the Transport Ministry with regard to the issue of ferry used for the repatriation of illegal immigrants back to the Philippines.
This is because one factor hampering the states government’s process of deporting illegal immigrants from the Philippines to their homeland is the specification of the ferry, the Chief Minister said.
“That is why when I was in Kuala Lumpur recently, I met with Transport Minister Anthony Loke and during our discussion on the matter, asked for some leniency as the issue of the ferry used is under his ministry’s purview,” Shafie was quoted as saying by local media here.
He pointed out that waiting for a vessel that meets the international requirements will hamper the deportation process and this means that the temporary detention centres will remain crowded.