Jesus Crispin Remulla—INQUIRER PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday announced the deactivation of the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) port operations division (POD) effective immediately, saying it had been part of the “defect” in the country’s immigration system.
“Reforms are underway in the Bureau of Immigration. I’m about to sign one order that will deactivate one office in the BI, which we believe is part of the defect of the BI right now, and that is the port operations division,” he said.
According to him, the POD “centralizes the operations of different ports and airports in the country” under one person.
“And we will take away the centralization and we will leave command responsibility to every person heading the operations in every airport because sometimes, they failed to respond to each other. We will try to prevent that so that people will be ultimately responsible in the areas where they operate,” Remulla explained.
The justice secretary said the deactivation of the POD “is in response to other controversies that we’ve faced in the past months about the process of immigration in our country.” He did not elaborate.
Sought for comment, Dana Sandoval, spokesperson for the BI, said they have yet to receive a copy of Remulla’s order.
Remulla also said that an investigation was ongoing regarding those allegedly involved in allowing foreigners detained at the BI detention facility to have access to communication devices.
In a surprise raid on Jan. 30, immigration officers seized laptops, internet routers, cigarettes, sharp objects, and more than P500,000 in cash from detainees. A total of 13 cell phones and two tablets were also taken from Japanese fugitives who authorities believe used the gadgets to coordinate crimes in Japan.