Gevero named BI OIC
JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has named an officer-in-charge at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) – one of the three ‘problematic’ attached agencies of the Department of Justice (DOJ) which he recently identified.
In Department Order No. 299-A dated July 4, Remulla named Rogelio Gevero Jr., the Chief of the Immigration Regulation Division, as OIC of the controversy-ridden immigration bureau.
” The OIC shall perform and discharge the duties and responsibilities of the office until July 31, 2022, or until a replacement has been appointed or designated, whichever comes first,” Remulla’s order read.
In his first flag-raising ceremony as Justice Secretary, Remulla on Monday identified three problematic attached agencies of the DOJ — Land Registration Authority (LRA), BI, and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).
At the BI, Remulla noted the pestering prevalence of extortion and human trafficking activities involving bureau executives and personnel.
The BI was rocked by controversies one after another with the” Pastillas Scheme” hogging headlines the most.
Under the Pastillas Scheme, Chinese visitors can seamlessly enter the country in exchange for bribes.
A Chinese citizen pays a P10,000 “service fee” – P2,000 of which will allegedly be shared among officials of the BI’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU), duty Immigration supervisor, and terminal heads.
The remaining P8,000 will then be given to tour operators and syndicates who will transport the Chinese from the airport to Pogo facilities.
It was also disclosed during Senate hearings that blacklisted Chinese fugitives would pay as much as P200,000 to “freely” enter the country.
“Tayo naman po ay pumunta sa Bureau of Immigration. May extortion syndicate, human trafficking syndicate, at protection syndicates, sabihin nyo na kung ano ay naroroon, and the sad thing about the Bureau of Immigration is that they exercise sovereign powers, it is the face of the country and we Filipinos have a duty to protect our own country, ” Remulla said.
