BI chief vows to continue drive vs ‘crooks’

Bureau of Immigration (BI) commissioner Marcelino Libanan vowed yesterday to continue the “cleansing process” of his bureau to get rid of “crooks.”

Libanan’s drive against corruption has pushed the agency from No. 76 to No. 7 last year, then to No. 4 last January in the Presidential Anti Graft Commission’s anti-graft compliance list.

“The BI rating has moved up again to No. 4 as a proof of our commitment. We want to get to No. 1 (in the anti-graft rating), Libanan said.  

He added that the process had already taken a toll on BI employees and “the network of corruption” within his bureau, following the dismissal of seven agents.

“It is only this time that dismissals are done,” he told reporters after meeting with the Korean community the other day here.

More than 10 agents are also being recommended for suspension, while 35 more given warnings, Libanan said.

He added that the BI only has 997 personnel and 400 “contractuals,” and the cleansing might reduce the number further.

Although not confirming there are threats to his life because of his “cleansing crusade,” Libanan said he wants to show that he really means business, even if the “process is hurting the dirty livelihood of others.”

The BI is also pushing for digitalized systems instead of person-to-person contacts to avoid corruption.

He noted that in 2006, there were only 15,000 visas issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) when there were more than 30,000 foreigners who entered the country.

In 2007, over 10,000 visas were issued when more than 17,000 foreign nationals came to the country.

But Libanan stressed that there must be a way to fix visa issuance procedures since by law, it is the BI which should issue visas. He noted that in the current setup, the DFA is the one doing it because the department has consulates in various countries worldwide while the BI has none.  – Artemio  Dumlao