JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II warned the men and women of the Bureau of Immigration against corrupt practices that may lead to their being dismissed from the government service and even land them in jail.
For alleged corruption and for failing to “improve their watch” over ports, the Justice Secretary wants to change the image of the bureau and even gave the BI leadership one year to improve the bureau.
Vitaliano made the remarks in an ambush interview with reporters during the 76th anniversary celebration of the BI.
But Aguirre also lauded BI personnel who have kept their integrity and successfully arrested foreign fugitives, overstaying aliens and aliens linked to cyber syndicates.
“Keep up the good work, but don’t associate with human trafficking syndicate or bad elements,” he told the BI officers, personnel and guests.
In his speech at the recent 76th BI anniversary celebration, Aguirre congratulated the BI for its successful drive against human trafficking which contributed to the upgrading of the Philippines to Tier 1 in the State Department’s global ranking index on human trafficking for 2015.
Aguirre also cited the BI for the Aug. 19 interception of 177 Indonesian nationals who attempted to leave for Saudi Arabia and join the Haj pilgrimage there, using Philippine passports that were fraudulently acquired for them by a syndicate.
He said the twin accomplishments are just a few of the “viable indicators of professionalism and commitment” of BI personnel to their mandate as gatekeepers of the country.
“You keep watch and assure us that no unwanted persons will enter our country to wreak havoc on our people. You tell us that no criminal will leave our country to escape the clutch of our laws that they violated. Please continue doing that and please do it well,” he said.
At the same time, Aguirre warned the “misguided few” in the BI who have tarnished the bureau’s reputation to “reform your ways while you still can.”
“Please do not wait for us to come for you. You will not like it. We will be relentless in our pursuit to cleanse the Department of Justice and all of its agencies of all forms of corruption and misdeeds,” he said.
Aguirre expressed his trust and confidence in the leadership of BI Commissioner Jaime Morente and his associate commissioners, Al Argosino and Michael Robles. “Please do not fail that trust,” he told the top BI officials.