Friday, November 24, 2006 Immigration execs face probe over deportation irregularity
THREE ranking officials of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) will be asked Friday to answer allegations that they allowed the deportation of illegal aliens and suspected terrorists for a price.
A five-man panel of the Department of Justice (DOJ) led by Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda sent subpoenas to Associate Commissioners Teodoro Delarmente, Jose Cabochan and Roy Almoro to appear in the fact-finding investigation based on the documents presented by Surigao del Norte Representative Robert Ace Barbers that they signed the deportation orders of illegal aliens.
The hearing was set at 9:30 a.m. at the executive lounge of the DOJ.
Pineda also directed the immigration officials to produce documents relative to the summary deportation of Vietnamese-American Vo Van Duc and Chinese national Zhang Du alias Wilson Zhang.
Zhang was arrested by the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force on September 27, 2001 and charged before a court in San Fernando, La Union, and was later detained in Bicutan on Nov. 15, 2002.
Vo was an alleged terrorist who was reportedly a subject of a manhunt in the US. He was arrested in late 2001 along with Vietnamese-Swiss Hyunh Thuan Ngok by agents of the BI "for overstaying" and engaging in unauthorized political activities.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. said he has asked Barbers to provide him copies of the documents. "I'm embarrassed (by the report), but we still have to consider whether it's true or not. We have heard of some allegations, there were anomalies but it's not as widespread as this," he added.
Gonzalez however said there is no need to suspend the three suspected immigration officials as it might "emasculate"
the bureau.
In his privilege speech in Congress, Barbers said the alleged "freedom for sale" activities of the commissioners have acquired a new meaning for the BID - "Bayad Importante Dito." (ECV/Sunnex)
