By Lane Afable, News Editor
A South African fugitive was arrested yesterday in Mandaue City, Cebu by agents of Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) of the Bureau of Immigration.
Michael James Noble Ballantine, also known as Michael James Ballantine, a 42-year-old South African national was subject of a warrant of arrest issued by a Kenyan court in September 2024. He is likewise listed in Interpol Red Notice dated October 2024, after he evaded capture.
FSU agents noticed the presence of Ballantine in Mandaue, Cebu after lodging an application at the BI’s Cebu District Office.
Armed with a mission order, an operation to capture the fugitive was conducted the other day along P.J. Burgos Street, Mandaue City by BI-FSU operatives, in coordination with the Intelligence Division’s Regional Intelligence Operations Unit 7.
Reports received by the BI through the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC), Ballantine escaped from Kenyan authorities to avoid prosecution for incidents that occurred in August 2024, where he allegedly assaulted victims inside his vehicle.
BI records bare that Ballantine arrived in the Philippines on December 2024 as a temporary visitor. He has since overstayed, with his authorized stay having expired in 2025. He is also in the subject of a blacklist and watchlist orders issued in 2025 for being an undesirable alien and a fugitive from justice.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado underscored the administration’s firm stance against harboring foreign fugitives, in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to strengthen border control and protect the public from transnational crimes.
“Foreign nationals who commit crimes, especially those involving sexual offenses, are not welcome in the Philippines.
“We will not allow our country to be used as a refuge by fugitives attempting to evade justice in their home countries,” Viado said
Ballatine is currently under the custody of BI authorities in Region 7 waiting deportation proceedings.
