Drilon urges BI overhaul amid bribery scandal

Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon on Friday called for a massive overhaul in the Bureau of Immigration (BI) regarding corruption issues  allegedly committed by its high-ranking officials.

“There is a pressing need to confront and address the systemic and institutional weaknesses that make the BI susceptible to corruption,” Drilon said in a statement.

To restore public confidence in the bureau, Drilon filed Senate Resolution No. 256, encouraging the Committee on Civil Service and Government Reorganization to look into possible reorganization of the BI.

Associate Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles, both high-ranking BI officials, are in hot water for having allegedly extorted, or received as a payoff, P50 million from Jack Lam, a Chinese gambling tycoon.

READ: 2 BI execs admit receiving P48M from Jack Lam

Drilon said that “brazen act of corruption” allegedly committed by high-ranking immigration officials strengthens the knowledge of an established culture of corruption in the BI.

He also added that the controversy adds to the magnitude which needs to be addressed, and the issue should meet President Rodrigo Duterte’s “stern and unforgivable” anti-corruption policy.

Drilon seeks a more rigorous system of discipline for employees and stronger standards in the selection of officers. He also acknowledged the efforts in preventing corruption in the BI in the past, but the senator said the efforts appear to be inadequate.

“It is imperative to explore the possible reorganization of the BI to carry out immigration reforms designed to make the agency resistant to corruption and to make way for a more efficient implementation of our immigration policies by a professional institution,” he said. RAM/rga