Abusive immigration personnel

Among the most abusive government employees I know of are immigration officers assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

Immigration officers anywhere in the world have the power to allow or prohibit foreigners from entering their country even for something as petty as not liking the way you look.

Our immigration officers at the Naia are aware of such a power, and some of them abuse it.

Philip C. Reyes (not Cruz as earlier reported in this column), an immigration officer, allegedly tore the passport of a departing Filipino woman, Charmaine Jamila Zdrzynski.

Charmaine was with her Australian husband, Arthur Zdrzynski, when the incident happened.

The Zdrzynskis were leaving for Melbourne, Australia, via Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 13 but were prevented from doing so because of Charmaine’s torn passport.

Reyes, who had examined Charmaine’s passport, reportedly went through Charmaine’s passport backwards and forward for about 10 minutes.

Not content, he went to a room to further check the passport.

When Reyes came out of the room about three minutes later, he told Charmaine that the passport’s covers were ripped apart from the inside pages.

When the Zdrzynskis protested, Reyes said Charmaine should shut up, otherwise he would ban her husband from entering the country again.

“Reyes threatened us repeatedly by saying, ‘You will reap the consequences of your protests,” they claimed.

Reyes even laughed when the Zdrzynskis said they would report his behavior, according to the couple.

All the time, the Zdrzynskis said, Reyes’ superiors—on duty supervisor Janet Anolin and deputy head supervisor Ricardo Sarao—were backing up Reyes.

“Did you see him rip it? Did you? If not then you can’t accuse Mr. Reyes of ripping your wife’s passport. Are you accusing Mr. Reyes of ripping her passport?” Sarao reportedly shouted at Arthur.

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The Zdrzynskis have since left—Charmaine was able to have her passport replaced Friday, Dec. 6—but asked the “Isumbong Mo kay Tulfo” program to represent them at the board of discipline of the Bureau of Immigration.

The board of discipline is hearing the couple’s complaint against Reyes.

As head of “Isumbong,” I am including supervisors Janet Anolin and Ricardo Sarao in the complaint in the board of discipline for tolerating Reyes’ behavior.

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It took the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) 12 years to decide on an administrative case against SPO2 Sande A. Baybayon.

Baybayon was charged with shooting to death Joel de la Cruz Ulanday during a bar room brawl on July 22, 2001.

My program, Isumbong Mo kay Tulfo, helped the victim’s mother, Elsa de la Cruz, file the administrative case against Baybayon, then a PO2, with the IAS.

Director General Alan la Madrid Purisima, PNP chief, signed the dismissal order against Baybayon recently.

Why did it take more than a decade for the IAS to find Baybayon guilty of grave misconduct?