Immigration agents held a professional basketball player for attempting to enter the country with a fake Philippine passport.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the passenger as Avery Roberto Scharer, who was apprehended upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal 1.
Scharer arrived aboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Canada and presented to the immigration officer at the arrival area his American and Philippine passports.
The BI officer, however, noticed major discrepancies and irregularities in Scharer’s Philippine passport, prompting the officer to refer the document to his duty supervisor who then endorsed the same to the bureau’s forensic documents laboratory for examination.
The forensic laboratory later issued a certification confirming its findings that the Philippine passport presented by Scharer was fraudulent.
Scharer allegedly posted on social media that he was wrongfully detained by immigration authorities upon his arrival at the NAIA.
“Our forensic equipment confirmed the suspicion of our officers,” Tansingco said.
“The Philippine passport he presented contained tampered pages, including the biographical data page. His attempt to conceal these alternations cannot escape the scrutiny of our inspectors. Posting false information on social media to gain sympathy despite the violation further manifests undesirability. There are no sacred cows, as any foreign national who have violated immigration laws and presented fake documentation will be arrested,” he added.
Scharer was later turned over to the BI legal division for inquest proceedings on charges of violating the Philippine passport act and for using a spurious immigration document. He will remain in the BI’s detention center in Bicutan, Taguig pending the resolution of his case.
It was gathered that Scharer played for various collegiate, amateur and professional basketball leagues in the US and Asia. In 2015, Scharer was drafted fifth overall by the Wang’s Basketball Couriers in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) D-League.