THE officials and employees of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) heaved a sigh of relief after Malacanang announced President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos,Jr.’s appointment of Atty. Norman Garcera Tansingco as the new Immigration Commissioner.
This is so because Tansingco is a true-blue, long-time BI employee and is thus a welcome figure to head the BI, most especially in the eyes of those composing the bureau, one of the attached agencies under the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Tansingco, after all, had worked at the BI from 2007-2017 as chief of staff of then Commissioner Marcelino Libanan, who now serves as a House minority leader. Libanan served as BI chief during the term of former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
At that time too, Tansingco served in a concurrent capacity as technical assistant for operations under the office of the BI Commissioner and Attorney III of the BI Board of Special Inquiry.
Prior to his new appointment, Tansingco was also the spokesman of the 4PS Party-list. He was also Libanan’s chief of staff when the latter served under the House of Representatives from July 1998 to June 2007.
A certified public accountant, he was admitted to the Philippine bar in 1991.
The BI is a primary enforcement arm tasked to ensure that all foreigners within its territorial jurisdiction comply with existing laws. It also acts as chief repository of all immigration records pertaining to entry, temporary sojourn, admission, residence and departure of all foreigners in the country.
Tansingco is faced with a bunch of challenges as head of the BI, which was aptly described by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla as one of the problematic agencies under the DOJ, along with the Land Registration Authority (LRA) and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).
Particularly, Remulla noted the ‘pestering prevalence’ of extortion and human trafficking activities involving immigration personnel, under the administration of former BI chief Jaime Morente.
The worst anomaly that marred the rein of Morente was the alleged involvement of BI officers in the trafficking of Filipino women to Syria and which merited a Senate investigation.
And then, of course, there was the infamous P50-million bribery case involving two high-ranking BI officials.
The Sandiganbayan has sentenced former Immigration deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles, along with retired police officer Wenceslao Sombero Jr. to reclusion perpetua, after convicting them of plunder over the said bribery. They were also convicted of graft and sentenced to six to 10 years of imprisonment and perpetual disqualification to hold public office.
Both Robles and Argosino were accused of receiving P50 million from Sombero, the alleged bagman of Chinese businessman Jack Lam, for the release of 1,316 illegal Chinese workers who were nabbed after they were found working illegally during a raid at Lam’s Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks casino resort in the Clark Freeport Zone in November of 2016.
Unlike Morente, newly-appointed Commissioner Tansingco is not a newbie in BI operations and could therefore not be duped that easily by unscrupulous personnel.
I am certain he will do a whole lot better than Morente.
Of course, happy birthday to celebrity doctor Rosary May Canay-Diaz, better known as Doc Rose Diaz, who celebrated her birthday recently.
Doc Rose is not an ordinary doctor as she caters to celebrities, through her expertise as a dermatologist and aesthetic surgeon at the Californian Bloom CGD Skin Care and Aesthetic Surgicenter, Inc.; she is also a Servant of Our Lord Jesus and Mama Mary and Medical Director at the Californian Bloom Aesthetic Institute and Medical Spa at Californian Beau The Medical Spa; Rosebloom Dermatology & Slimming Clinic.
Greetings are from her husband Dr. Jorge David-Diaz, families, friends, supporters and patients.
I join them in wishing you good health, continued success and more birthdays to come…
Joke from Carmen de Luna of Antipolo
PEDRO: Magaling ang Tatay ko! Alam mo, ’yung Pacific Ocean, siya ang humukay nun!
JUAN:Wala ‘yan sa Tatay ko! Alam mo yung Dead Sea?
PEDRO: Oo naman.
JUAN: Siya ang pumatay nun!
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