FOUR officials of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) are in hot water after a businessman accused them of extortion.
These officials were charged criminally and administratively in a complaint filed by a Manila-based businessman before the Office of the Ombudsman.
The complainant sought the help of the Manila city government, banking on the assurance being issued every now and then by Mayor Honey Lacuna that businessmen in the city would enjoy the local government’s protection in every way possible, against all forms of harassment so they could do business in Manila hassle-free.
The businessman concerned was immediately referred by the mayor’s office to City Administrator Bernie Ang who, in turn, assigned lawyers to interview the trader and see if his complaint had any basis whatsoever.
To make the long story short, the complainant said a ranking BI official sent a text message inviting him to a meeting at a coffee shop. There, the official told him to settle a debt he supposedly owed his (BI official) friend who invested in the complainant’s business. The complainant stated he did not know the official’s friend and owed him nothing.
The official also told the complainant that if he would offer P10 million for his problem to go away, he (BI official) might give it a thought which the businessman said was an attempt to extort money from him.
The businessman was then handed a complaint from a certain Mr. Co for the collection of money, which the complainant said was no longer within the power of the BI. He also maintained that he did not violate any immigration law and that instead of dismissing the case purportedly filed against him since it does not involve any violation of the immigration laws, he was issued a charge sheet for being an ‘undesirable alien’ and was even included in the watchlist order, in violation of his right to travel and being threatened with deportation.
“Under the law, undesirable aliens are those who violated the immigration law -Section 37(a) of Commonwealth Act 613 or Philippine Immigration Law… and deportation must be based on said ground, not on ‘unstated grounds’ (charge sheet),” the complainant said.
“BI cannot use Administrative Code (Sec. 69, Act 2711) to deport me because only the President can use that. To use that law is an abuse of power,” he stated, adding that the proof of undesirability is the filing of criminal information in court in which case, there is none.
The businessman also said that deporting him would violate his SIRV (special investor’s residence visa). It was learned that the complainant is a legitimate businessman who holds a SIRV, which can be obtained using investment.
It is a special non-immigrant visa that entitles the holder to reside in the Philippines temporarily, for as long as the required qualifications are met and investments continue to exist. As a holder of such a visa, the businessman also pays his taxes to the city religiously.
The complainant is also seeking the suspension of the said BI officials so that they will not be able to use their posititon to intimidate or harass him during the pendency of the case he filed against them.
My, oh my…
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