‘Suspicious’ Armenians Barred From Entering Philippines

MANILA, (AFP) - Three Armenian nationals were denied entry to the Philippines for their suspicious actions at Manila's international airport, officials said Monday.

Airport police anti-terrorism chief Cresencio Ablan said the three, Petros Tunasian, Armen Petrosian and Suren Hunanian were sent back to Bangkok, their point of origin, shortly after entering the Philippines on Saturday. The three were seen by intelligence officers shooting a video of the arrival area, prompting authorities to inquire for their passports.

Ablan said the three arrogantly claimed they were diplomats but later said they were engineers on a business trip. They had obtained their visas in Nepal, not in Armenia. One of the men then pretended to suffer a stroke, causing commotion at the airport, Ablan said.

"It is possible that the above-named subjects were associated with an Armenian national who was reported by a Manila-based embassy of planning to bomb the United States embassy, also here in Manila," Ablan said without elaborating.

Security in all sea- and airports across the Philippines has been heightened amid fears of further terror attacks. Last week, an airport bomb attack blamed on Muslim separatist rebels killed 21 people and injured about 150 others in southern Davao city.