FULL PROBE NEEDED | Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla says the discovery that “thousands and thousands” of work visas were granted by the Bureau of Immigration to foreigners working in fake companies is “just the tip of the iceberg.” (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has ordered an investigation into the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) alleged issuance of thousands of prearranged employment visas, also known as 9G visas, to foreigners supposedly working for over 500 local companies that turned out to be fake.
“We found that many corporations petitioning for 9G visas are fake corporations, nonentities which the legal department of the BI allowed,” Remulla told reporters on Tuesday.
A 9G visa is issued by the immigration bureau to foreigners working for local companies that must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Remulla said that during a meeting with BI officials on Monday, he asked them “not to grant any more visas to sole proprietorships but only to corporations that have the stamp approval of the SEC.”
The fake corporations, according to the justice secretary, had claimed to be local companies applying for visas for foreign nationals who would supposedly be working for them in the Philippines.
Remulla, who described the latest immigration scam as an “affront to our sovereignty,” said that the supposed companies’ applications for 9G visas were approved by the BI “hook, line and sinker” without any verification being made first with the SEC.
He added that more than 500 fake corporations could be involved, “many of these Pogo (Philippine offshore gaming operator) companies, along with “thousands and thousands of visas issued with the petition of these corporations.”
The visas were “presumed to have been validated by the [immigration bureau’s] legal department and visa issuing authority,” Remulla said, adding that the BI’s legal officers could end up being implicated in the investigation he had ordered to determine, among others, when the fraudulent practice started.
Asked about what would happen to the foreigners who were issued 9G visas through fake companies, Remulla replied: “Then [they] don’t have a reason to be in this country.”
Tip of iceberg
He pointed out, however, that they still had to dig deeper “because it’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
“I will be asking for a fuller investigation and that’s what we discussed yesterday. I am challenging the immigration commissioner to [make] this matter as a priority so that we stop making [fools] of Filipinos,” Remulla said.
In particular, he called on the bureau to release all its documents and relieve or change the personnel in its records section because “they could burn the files.”
Remulla said they were also reconsidering availing of a third-party validation system for issuing Philippine visas, citing how European countries were tapping a visa outsourcing and technology services specialist to manage the issuance of visas and passports to clients.
In October 2023, he disclosed that the DOJ was monitoring the possible resurgence of an “escort service” like the so-called “pastillas” bribery scheme through which immigration personnel were allegedly allowing the entry or exit of passengers with questionable documents.
In June 2022, 45 BI employees were dismissed after the Office of the Ombudsman found them “administratively liable” for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service for accepting bribes from foreigners, mostly Chinese nationals, in exchange for giving them special treatment upon their arrival in the country.