Newly-discovered young singers Sandara Parks and Melissa Ricks were issued yesterday special work permits by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) that gave them the green light to pursue their acting careers in the Philippines.
Parks, a Korean, and Ricks, a Filipino-American, visited the BI office on Magallanes Drive in Intramuros to apply for and secure their work permits.
They also paid a courtesy call on Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez Jr. who ordered the speedy processing of their work permits.
Parks and Ricks were competitors in the recent Star Circle Quest contest of a TV network, where both of them emerged as runner-ups.
They sought the work permits as they will soon make their debut appearance on television as lead actresses in separate show.
Parks is set to host a telenovela series entitled “Sandara’s Romance’’ and she will join Ricks and eight other Star Circle Quest finalists in the youth-oriented drama series “SCQ Reload.’’
Before being issued their work permits, however, the two actresses and their managers received short lectures from BI officials on the bureau’s policies and regulations on issuing special work permits to foreign artists.
BI Executive Director Roy Almoro warned them against appearing in the movies and television without first securing a work permit from the bureau.
Almoro cautioned them against violating the policy as it could lead to their summary deportation for transgressing Philippine immigration laws.
The BI official also reminded the two actresses that their work permits will expire in three months, hence, they have to renew them to continue pursuing their acting careers in the country.
It was gathered that Parks was previously issued a resident visa by the BI, being a minor dependent of her Korean parents who are expatriates here and were granted working visas by the bureau.
But Almoro said the visa would not suffice in allowing Parks to pursue her acting career without getting a work permit for herself. (Jun Ramirez)
