Social media personality Christian Albert “Xian” Gaza posted a public apology after claiming that was able to fly out of the Philippines despite having three warrants of arrest.
It can be recalled that Gaza posted a series of photos on Facebook wherein he said that he was able to leave the Philippines and escape arrest on September 30, 2018.
RELATED STORY: Did Xian Gaza sneak out of PH to escape arrest?
However, after his post went viral and caught the attention of authorities, Gaza apologized to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for posting such content.
“Humihingi po ako ng pasensya sa Bureau of Immigration. Hindi ko po intensyon na dungisan ang inyong imahe at kredibilidad. Kung mabibigyan po ako ng sanction at makakasuhan dahil dito, ‘wag naman po sana. Mabuhay ang ahensya,” he said.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has ordered an investigation to find out if Gaza’s claims on his post are true.
However, the BI has already dismissed the claims saying that it would be impossible for Gaza to escape the country with an arrest warrant and five-year jail sentence.
“Booking numerous flights will not help evade police. Everything is recorded in our systems. With one click you’ll know which flight a person really took,” Bureau of Immigration spokesperson, Dana Sandoval, said in a statement Monday.
“Since he had no derogatory record when he left, he was cleared for departure. It was quite uneventful and ordinary, really, No Hollywood-level storyline. Just regular immigration clearance. Stunts like this using the Bureau to gain fame and stay relevant is a security risk. He is making a mockery of our airport procedures for attention,” Sandoval added.
The BI spokesperson pointed out that once a person has a hit for an existing hold departure order or warrant of arrest, he/she will be immediately be barred from flying out.
“This story is preposterous similar to other claims he made in the past. If you know regular airport procedures, his story sounds silly,” she noted.
Sandoval said their legal department is now “studying possible actions against him”.
The BI official noted that the Facebook post which went viral may pose risk on the security in the airport particularly the BI inspections.
“He is encouraging other people to circumvent our immigration inspection through these schemes,” she added.
She likewise clarified that the alleged conversation between Gaza and an immigration officer did not happen.
“The story is preposterous, similar to other claims he made in the past. If you know regular airport procedures, his story sounds silly. Ang daming (There are lot of) loopholes,” she added.
Gaza has been sentenced to five years in jail last year after the Malabon Metropolitan Trial Court found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Batas Pambansa (BP) 22 or the Anti-Bouncing Checks Law.
Gaza became a trending topic on social media in 2017 when he asked actress Erich Gonzales to go on a date with him by putting up a huge billboard in Morayta, Manila.
