BI bans 56 fixers

The Bureau of Immigration said yesterday it has banned 56 persons from entering its offices in Intramuros, Manila due to their involvement in illegal transactions.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said that from May 3 to July 9, members of the BI civil security unit apprehended the fixers in separate incidents for various violations of the bureau’s rules and regulations.

The 56 fixers were involved in estafa, falsifying public documents, obstruction, violating the “no ID, no entry” policy, transacting business for foreign clients without required accreditation from the bureau, and other unauthorized transactions.

In his report to Libanan, BI Assistant Commissioner Rolando Sacramento said the unauthorized immigration agents were caught doing illegal business in the lobby, visa extension office and alien registration division of the bureau’s main building.

Sacramento said he has tapped teams of undercover agents to monitor and accost alleged fixers in the building.

Libanan earlier ordered a crackdown on illegal transactions in the bureau in a bid to institutionalize genuine reforms and erase the agency’s reputation as a haven of fixers.  – Edu Punay