Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said on Monday, Sept. 9, he has recommended to President Marcos the replacement of Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco.
“I have asked the President to relieve him and replace him. Marami sila naging problema (They have many problems),” Remulla said.
Instead of waiting for the decision of the President, Remulla advised Tansingco to just resign.
During an interview on ANC’s Headstart, Remulla declared he has lost his trust and confidence in Tansingco.
“It’s a pattern of behavior they have been carrying out for the past year or so about how they treat their job and I think that should speak for itself,” he explained.
Remulla's move on the replacement of Tansingco or the latter's resignation was aired although the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) cleared the BI of any liability in the escape of dismissed Mayor Alice L. Guo of Bamban, Tarlac.
But Remulla said: “The PAOCC doesn’t know anything about what is really happening in the BI."
He said there have been many problems with the BI under the leadership of Tansingco.
“We have reminded, we have not been lacking in reminders to the immigration commissioner about these problems,” he said.
Among these problems, Remulla cited that “more than a hundred fake corporations were issued visas to be able to petition POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) workers into the country and he didn’t do anything about it.”
“There are escort services existing right now in the BI where they escort people with red notices in and out of the country,” he said.
“We are told about this through counter-intelligence reports because they will not tell us within the BI but we have counter-intelligence measures that we are employing to find out what they are really doing and that’s one of them, the escort service of wanted people,” he added.