Immigration director forms panel to verify plaint vs. bureau agent

Bureau of Immigration regional director Geronimo Rosas has created a three-man committee to verify the veracity of the reported complaint of a certain Teresita Rosco filed at the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas against an immigration confidential agent.

The committee is composed of lawyer Serafin Abellon, Cesar Cloma and Marciano Lucido, said Rosas who insisted he would not tolerate any anomaly in his bureau and that those involved in the alleged "receipt padding" should be punished.

Rosco filed the other day criminal and administrative charges at the Ombudsman-Visayas against Fred Suico, a confidential agent of BI-7.

Rosas said he requested Rosco to furnish his office a copy of the complaint so a formal reply would be made, although Suicio was already relieved because of another case filed earlier against the latter by another complainant.

Committee member Abellon, on the other hand, said it is surprising Rosco was drumbeating her charges to the media without filing her complaint to the bureau.

Immigration personnel were also surprised to note that assistant city prosecutor Mary Ann Castro has filed libel cases against the immigration staff on a staggered basis.

Castro had filed libel cases, first against 10 confidential agents and personnel of BI-7, and second against another batch of 13 personnel.

Another immigration lawyer, Brandon Enad, said Castro could not just choose who she would prosecute at a certain time because the rules of criminal procedures entail that every violator of the law should be prosecuted.

At least 58 immigration staff signed the petition, dated last June 26, to recall the assignment of Castro at the bureau and they brought it directly to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales.

If Castro indicts all of them, each of them said they would file in turn individual charges against Castro. They were confident however that the libel cases that Castro filed against them would be dismissed eventually. - Gregg M. Rubio