Following the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrest of a law firm employee within the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for allegedly facilitating entry visas of Chinese who are still in China, that the Immigration bureau to conduct a more in-depth investigation into such incident.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said it immediately issued a directive for the development of a fact-finding investigation that will investigate the employee of a law firm.
The suspect was identified as Vivan Lara, who was arrested at the BI main office for allegedly extorting money from three Chinese nationals.
Lara appears to be an employee of a law firm accredited to transact with BI.
But his personal accreditation has expired since January and he is no longer allowed to have a transaction with BI.
According to reports, Lara was arrested after accepting P900,000 marked money to process the passports and visas of Chinese nationals.
Morente said they will not tolerate the fixers in their yard.
“We do not tolerate fixers within our premises. This person was even brazen enough to do her activities inside a BI office, ”said Morente.
In fact, the accreditation of the Calalang Law Office, Lara’s employer, was also suspended while the investigation into the suspect’s extortion continued.
Apart from this, BI is also said to be investigating the breach of security protocols inside the BI building because the suspect was still able to enter even though his ID had expired a month.
“We are also investigating the breach of security protocols inside the BI building, as she was able to enter despite her ID expiring last month, as well as use an office for her transaction. We had our men scan CCTV footage to look into possible accomplices of Lara, as well as ensure that the BI grounds are rid of fixers, ”Morente added.
Morente also ordered the investigation of the three Chinese nationals involved in the fixing incident before returning them to their country.
BI allegedly continued to liaise with the NBI to find out if the suspect also had an accomplice within the bureau and to further strengthen their campaign against illegal fixers who are victimizing foreigners.
“We are coordinating with the NBI in this investigation to see if there are any cohorts inside the Bureau, and to strengthen protocols to prevent illegal fixers from extorting aliens,” Morente concluded.
