2 BI men axed over Reyeses’ escape

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Immigration has dismissed two employees accused of allowing the escape from the country of former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes and his brother former Coron Mayor Mario Reyes, who were wanted for the killing of journalist Gerardo “Doc Gerry” Ortega.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the DOJ—which oversees the BI—said administrative aide Rogelio Udarbe Jr. and security guard Wesley Gutierrez were both dismissed for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

Udarbe and Gutierrez’s retirement benefits were forfeited. Their civil service eligibilities were cancelled and both were perpetually disqualified from holding public office.

The Court of Appeals (CA) has since nullified the decision of the Department of Justice to charge the Reyes brothers with murder, a ruling the DOJ continues to contest.

Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David, in separate rulings on Udarbe and Gutierrez’s cases, said there was substantial evidence to file  administrative charges against the two.

Udarbe was found to have provided the vehicle, his Mitsubishi Montero, that transported the Reyes brothers and their lawyer Hermie Aban to Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on March 18, 2012. The brothers, who then boarded a flight to Vietnam, were thus able to elude the lookout bulletin issued against them by the DOJ.

Money wrapped in newspaper

Udarbe’s driver, Arsenio Sicad, told the BI investigation panel that he used the Montero to fetch the Reyes brothers and Aban from a gasoline station in Pasay City. He said the former governor gave him P2,000 while Aban left money wrapped in a newspaper which was intended for Udarbe.

Sicad said Udarbe later gave him P10,000 and asked that he not tell anyone what transpired. Sicad said he recognized the former governor from the television footage and newspaper pictures of him.

Udarbe presented to the panel his supervisors and other BI employees who all claimed they did not see Udarbe at Terminal 3 on the day of the escape. Udarbe, claimed he was on sick leave because of a sore throat and fever. He belied Sicad’s testimony and presented other witnesses who portrayed the driver as having a gambling problem.

Udarbe, however, admitted that he and Aban were good friends, that he ordered Sicad to drive Aban to Terminal 3 and that Sicad even fetched the lawyer, who, according to BI records, returned to the country on March 20, 2012.

Aban also testified before the panel, admitting that he did accompany the brothers to Vietnam but denied he gave money to Sicad.

David said it was reasonable to conclude that Udarbe “connived” with Aban in ensuring the undetected departure of the Reyes brothers.

“Clearly, the acts of Udarbe constitute a transgression of the law which is so corrupt, flagrant and lawful. Udarbe’s misconduct also deprived the government of a committed service,” the Commissioner ruled.

As for Gutierrez, David said the investigation established that the guard cleared for departure ex-governor Reyes, who was carrying a tampered passport under the name of Joseph Lim Pe but bearing Reyes’ picture.

Lookout order

Gutierrez claimed he did not know of any lookout order for Reyes and that there was no such document posted on computer monitors in the BI counters or bulletin boards in the departure area. He said he did not know Reyes or any of the most wanted criminals in the country, since it was not his business to know them.

He said he did not remember “Mr. Pe” passing through the counter. Records showed he subjected the passenger to primary inspection, after which he affixed his official stamp and date on the traveler’s passport.

Dino Vizconde, the head of the BI’s information and communications technology section, testified that an examination of the computer records showed Pe’s passport was manually entered, rather than being automatically encoded using the passport scanner, which is the system’s default setting.

Vizconde said the passport scanner program was normally functioning at the time Pe’s passport was scanned, although the BI official admitted that the scanner cannot identify whether a passport is genuine or not.

The investigation established that there were “manifest differences” in the real Pe’s passport and the passport processed by Gutierrez.

David said Gutierrez was “duty bound to inform himself of important issuances and bulletins as well as effectively assess all passengers and travel documents presented before him.”