(Eagle News) — Over 400 Bureau of Immigration employees have been sanctioned or investigated for corruption since 2016.
Bureau chief Jaime Morente made the statement following the signing of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission’s Anti-Corruption Manifesto in an online event led by Presidential Anti-Corruption Commissioner Greco Belgica and other PACC officials on on Wednesday morning.
The event had around 150 attendees, including the bureau personnel assigned in different regions of the country from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
According to Morente, he takes an “iron fist stance” against corruption, noting that “it has no place amongst our ranks.”
Apart from the administrative charges filed against erring personnel, he said the bureau has put in place system improvements to deter and prevent corruption in the workplace.
These include the creation of a 24/7 feedback channel through Immigration Helpline in 2016, the streamlining of frontline processes in compliance with the Ease of Doing Business Law, eliminating red tape by reducing the number of process steps and signatories and by modernizing systems, decentralization of airport units to maintain checks and balances at the airport, and the activation of the E-Gate System—a man-less counter used in processing arriving Filipino passengers.
“The pandemic has given us more opportunities to implement measures that not only ensure the proper safety and health protocols but also result in tighter anti-corruption controls. These improvements have been proven effective, as seen in the most recent audit of the (Anti-Red Tape Authority) on the (bureau), wherein no major adverse findings have been reported,” Morente said.
According to Morente, the signing of the manifesto is “a symbol of our continuous commitment to finally cleanse the Bureau of the evils of corruption.”
“With our partners from the PACC, we shall continue to uphold the tenets of the Anti-Corruption Manifesto, and strive to be role models as responsible public servants,” Morente said.
