Agents of The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) secretary-general Graham Lim on Monday after the Supreme Court (SC) declared him as an alien.
Lim was turned over to Bureau of Immigration (BI) to face deportation proceedings.
A team from the NBI – Interpol Division served a warrant of deportation on Lim around 2:30 p.m. Monday.
Lim was arrested by operatives of the NBI Interpol under lawyer Claro de Castro Jr. at the Makati City Hall.
Lim expressed sadness about the arrest and said he was caught by surpise while insisting that he is a Filipino citizen.
"I was born here. My age is half of a century. My father is a Chinese and my mother is from Tuguegarao, Cagayan," he said.
"I knew that my warrant was already dismissed. I don't know why they are still arresting me. The trial is still on going at the Pasay court," he said.
Lim said he has a case filed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for falsification of passport.
Reports said Lim may be subjected to deportation proceeding.
Asked to comment if the case against him was tainted with politics, he said: "It had been politics for a long time. It all about basketball. They want to get what they want," he said.
He said authorities would send me home to Taiwan. "I am a Filipino, said Lim, adding that he is married to a Filipina and they have two children.
In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that he was not a Filipino citizen after the High Courts' Third Division denied with finality Lim's effort to establish Filipino citizenship.
The SC quashed a motion for reconsideration which Lim filed in November 2007.
The decision was certified by Wilfredo Lapitan, assistant clerk of court, in behalf of Lucita Abjelina-Soriano, clerk of court.
