Duterte orders probe of ‘harassment’ of Indian students by trader, BI agents

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has ordered an investigation into the complaints of Indian medical students of “harassment” by an Indian businessman and his contacts at the Bureau of Immigration.

Duterte issued the order to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) during his Sunday television program Gikan sa masa, para sa masa.

“Dr. Ashin Mohan should be called by the CIDG to explain,” Duterte said, referring to the Indian doctor who has been operating the Davao Education Management Services Company Ltd, after about 1,000 Indian medical students trooped to City Hall on Jan. 8 complaining of being harassed physically and psychologically inside their dormitory.

The foreign students claimed they were being made to pay exorbitant fees and subjected to unnecessary punishment when they failed to pay their rent on time. Mohan’s firm operates the dormitory where the students are staying.

“I’m sure somebody in that office is listening now, tell your chief I’m ordering to conduct an investigation immediately,” Duterte said. “This is a criminal case that involves extortion at pahirap (and torture), which are nonbailable.”

Duterte asked the CIDG to come up with a report by Wednesday (January 14), even as he warned Mohan “to follow the law” or risk prosecution.”

Addressing Mohan and all foreign nationals doing business in the city, Duterte said, ““May I ask you to follow the law, if not, either get out or risk being prosecuted.”

He also extended the warning to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers whom the Indian medical students have accused of charging them exorbitant fees.

“I am asking you if this is true,” Duterte said, addressing the local BI officers and adding he was not making any conclusive statement yet, although it was not the first time he heard such report involving immigration officers.

“Either you do your work well, or I myself will arrest you; then, you better surrender kay pusilon ta jud mo (because I’ll really shoot you),” he said.

He said if immigration officials found a problem with the students’ immigration status and papers, they should summon the students to their office and not talk to them personally in their rooms, where nobody else could hear the conversation.

“You have to do it the proper way, do not investigate people inside a room, where there are only the two of you,” Duterte said.

“Don’t hinder the progress of the city by giving it a bad image,” he said. “If that’s the practice outside of the city, do not do that in my city because I insist on what is right and legal,” he said.

Duterte said he was addressing not only the officials of the Bureau of Immigration but also other agencies of the government such as the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BoC), known as the fertile grounds for corruption.