2 immigration officers relieved over forged entries

MANILA, Philippines — Two immigration officers were relieved from their posts for allegedly forging the entry last month of Jan Marsalek, former chief operating officer of collapsed German payments firm. Wirecard AG.

One of those relieved was from the Bureau of Immigration (BI)’s head office in Manila, while the other was based at Mactan Cebu International Airport.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the two were transferred “pending investigation but once the fact-finding report shows culpability, the appropriate sanctions will be imposed.”

“We’ll find out if other persons were involved, as well as their motives, once the work of the BI fact-finding committee is completed,” he said.

Guevarra had disclosed that BI officers “fictitiously” encoded that Marsalek entered the country on June 23 and left on June 24. This was not true, however, “based on CCTV footage, airline manifests and other records.”

—Dona Z. Pazzibugan