(Eagle News) — The Bureau of Immigration has barred from its premises a law firm employee who was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation over extortion allegations.
In a statement, the bureau said Vivan Lara was arrested on Thursday at the bureau’s main office for alleged extortion from three Chinese nationals.
The BI said she was nabbed after receiving the P900,000 in marked money.
“We do not tolerate fixers within our premises. This person was even brazen enough to do her activities inside a BI office,” Bureau commissioner Jaime Morente said.
The bureau said Lara was supposedly an employee of the Calalang law office that was accredited to transact with the agency.
Lara’s accreditation had expired in January.
The law office’s accreditation was also suspended indefinitely, the bureau said.
According to the bureau, Morente also ordered the creation of a fact-finding committee to probe the incident.
He said the bureau was 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,” he said.
He said an investigation of the three Chinese nationals involved in the incident for initiation of deportation proceedings if they have immigration violations was also underway.
“Effectively, Lara is banned from entering any BI office in the country,” he added.
