Seventy-three employees of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) have either been dismissed or susended this year on charges of corruption, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said on Friday, Oct. 13.
Also, Tansingco said there are a total of 72 pending cases before the Board of Discipline (BOD) against erring immigration personnel since he assumed office.
He said he has been enforcing a "one strike policy” wherein personnel involved in controversies are immediately removed from the frontlines pending investigation.
He pointed out that corruption "has been a long problem of the Bureau, and we are making significant strides to catch corrupt employees and prevent other personnel from being tempted to go the rouge path."
He expressed hopes that the technological upgrades at the BI will be able provide another layer of security and prevent corruption.
“Ngayon manual parin tayo (We are still manual) -- a passenger has to interact with an immigration officer to be processed,” he said..
“But with the upgrades we are implementing, our operations would involve e-gates and AI (artificial intelligence), which would remove unnecessary person-to-person contact,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and BI announced that they are working together to investigate the issue of “escorting” at the country’s international airports.
"Corruption has no place in the BI,” declared Tansingco.
“Through our partnership with the DOJ and our embrace of advanced technology, we are dedicated to eradicating corruption," he assured.