THERE seems to be a brewing powerplay at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) owing to recent developments that suggest so.
While BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco was in Thailand as Head of the Philippine delegation in an ASEAN meeting of immigration departments and heads of consular affairs, his deputy commissioner, Daniel Laogan, was quoted in a news item as having said that the bureau is eyeing amnesty for illegal aliens.
Still, according to the news item, Laogan was quoted as saying that a planned amnesty is on the way and that in fact, a draft proposal has been submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The program is expected to yield P2 billion in income from penalties and fines.
He also reportedly stated that currently, there are approximately 500,000 illegal aliens in the country.
Tansingco issued a press release debunking the statements that were attributed to Laogan as both “unauthorized” and “baseless.”
“No such proposal has been submitted by the BI. We are an implementing agency and amnesty would require a new law passed by Congress.” Tansingco said.
He went on to slam the pronouncements reportedly made by Laogan, describing such statements as “careless and dangerous”.
According to Tansingco, his office had in fact received information that there are several unscrupulous groups and individuals that are already selling slots for the supposed amnesty, using social messaging apps as vehicles for their prospective illicit transactions.
Tansingco thus reiterates that “no such thing is on the table.”
Laogan is the last Deputy Commissioner to be appointed to the BI. He previously served as president of the Chinese Filipino Business Club Inc. and Senior Adviser of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. He was appointed only last May, completing the three-man BI Board of Commissioners.
In my humble opinion, I think Laogan made a wrong move, considering that he issued the statements — if indeed, he did say what was attributed to him — while Tansingco was away and without any clearance or go signal to do so.
In every office or organization, there is always a hierarchy that should be observed or there will really be chaos. The fact that Tansingco himself slammed Laogan and his pronouncements only made it clear that Laogan was acting on his own.
Too, the BI has a very effective spokesperson in the person of Dana Sandoval, who would have been tasked to release the story to the media if ever there was really such a plan.
Personally, I was aghast over the supposed statement that there are currently 500,000 illegal aliens in the country. It is like admitting that the BI is not doing its job of hunting down illegal aliens or screening the entry of foreigners that the alleged number of illegal aliens grew that big, at a time when President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is the sitting president.
With what Laogan allegedly did, it became apparent that there is an ongoing powerplay at the BI and those on top are not singing the same tune, at the very least.
Who will win in this ‘clash of the titans’ at the immigration bureau? Hmmmm…..
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