Ninoy Aquino International Airport -- "It pains us to leave our only daughter in Japan."

This was the sad statement of Arlan and Sarah Calderon upon their arrival in Manila Monday evening after they were forced to leave their daughter, Noriko, in Japan following their deportation.

The couple looked confused upon deplaning from the Japan Airlines flight JAL 745 which brought them back to the country after losing a deportation case in Japan that went on for nearly three years.

“Masakit iwan ang anak namin,” Arlan said, but added that Noriko, now 13 years old, is in safe hands, staying with Sarah’s sister who is married to a Japanese national.

Airport officials met the Calderon couple at the gate and escorted them to the immigration office.

There, they filled up an “Interception Form” indicating when they actually left the Philippines and where and how long they stayed in another country.

Sarah entered Japan in 1992 with Arlan following in 1993. The couple did not say how they avoided being detected for so long but said “maraming gumagawa nuon duon.”

Arlan struggled answering questions from reporters in Tagalog. He said that since Noriko’s birth, they always talked to her in Japanese and that they never taught her how to speak Tagalog because all her friends were Japanese.

The Calderon couple said they will first try to look for jobs but will apply for re-entry visas with the Japanese Embassy at the soonest possible time.

Noriko, although born and raised in Japan, remains a Filipino citizen. However, she can apply for naturalization in Japan when she reaches the age of 16.

Asked if Noriko can petition them after she becomes a naturalized Japanese citizen, the couple said, “We hope so.”