The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has launched a crackdown against fixers as it encouraged the public to report persons illegally facilitating transactions at the agency for a fee.
In an advisory, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente stressed that the BI “condemns any and all acts of fixing” and that no BI official or employee is authorized to engage in such activities.
He stated that BI personnel are prohibited from offering speedy completion of transactions for a fee or for any other consideration to persons availing the bureau’s services.
The BI chief warned that the offense of fixing is punishable by imprisonment of not more than six years or a fine not exceeding P200,000.
Morente thus advised those who have been victimized by fixers to report their experience to the Immigration Helpline via email at immigration.helpline.ph@gmail.com, or via the BI’s Committee on Good Governance (CGG) and the administrative division.
The CGG can be reached via bicggmain@gmail.com while the administrative division can be contacted at administrative@immigration.gov.ph.
“Those who wish to report incidence of fixing must submit a written complaint mentioning, among others, the name of the fixer, location of the office, date, time, type of transaction, narration of events, and the signature of the complainant,” advised Morente.
BI launches drive vs fixers
Earlier, Morente formed a six-man BI Anti-Corruption Committee, chaired by Deputy Commissioner J. Tobias Javier, that was tasked to institute reforms and implement programs that will reduce, if not eliminate corruption in the agency.
The committee was also directed to coordinate and liaise with the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) in initiating anti-corruption programs and activities in the BI.
“We have likewise coordinated with other law enforcement agencies to initiate investigations against fixers pretending to be employees of the BI,” Morente shared.
BI also warned foreigners against fixers offering assistance on student visa processing.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that the announcement followed after receiving reports of four cases of visa tampering in June.
Morente then expressed his dismay towards the incidents, and warned the public to only transact with authorized immigration personnel. “It is unbelievable that scam cases continue to rise even during the pandemic,” Morente said.
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