MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison on Tuesday reacted to a viral Facebook post complaining of a rude Immigration employee.
"We will not tolerate such abuse," Mison said on his Twitter account after reading teacher Roselle Carreon's story that has earned over 2,600 shares on the social network.
@Abi_Valte @ruttgard for all complaints against rotten eggs of the BI, send to xinfo@immigration.gov.ph WE WILL NOT TOLERATE SUCH ABUSE
— Fred Mison (@BICommissioner) March 27, 2014 "No amount of competence and efficiency can justify disrespectful behavior," Mison also said.
In the viral post, Carreon alleged how a certain Immigration supervisor Carlo Salazar in the bureau's Makati extension told her to "shut up" while she was inquiring about an identification card.
"My husband was asking Carlo Salazar properly if I can just claim it as his wife without any letter of authorization and he stood up and said, "SHUT UP. Kailangan paulit-ulit ang tanong diba in-explain ko na! Why didn’t you tell your husband?'" she wrote.
"Everybody in that small room heard him. He was so rude. Even his co-workers were surprised but they just looked at me and then looked down. Nobody wanted to stop his temper. Even the eldest man in the room who appears to be a lawyer or maybe somebody with position didn’t say a word," Carreon continued.
Salazar allegedly slammed Carreon again when she called his response improper.
"When we told him that his behavior was inappropriate and that he shouldn't say that to his clients, he just said, 'I can say shut up to anybody if I want to!' I was shocked," she added.
Mison said that he has directed the Makati office to require Salazar to explain the incident.
President Aquino's deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte, who was tagged in the Twitter thread, said that Mison's move to summon Salazar is the start of the "disciplinary process" and does not end with a scolding.