Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco vowed to show no mercy to employees involved in human trafficking activities.
During the Senate hearing of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender headed by Senator Risa Hontiveros, Tansingco bared that they have relieved the immigration officer that approved the departure of the three victims.
The victims claimed that their recruiter is in cahoots with said immigration officer, who was said to approve their travel for a fee. Tansingco said that his office will not stop until all those involved are removed from office.
“We will not tolerate any such misdemeanor amongst our ranks. We are one with Senator Hontiveros in her goal to rid the country of this societal ill,” said Tansingco. “The fight against trafficking is a huge undertaking, and we have long been raising that this should be tackled using a whole-of-government approach. We have to take it from its roots, and pull out this weed that destroys the lives of our kababayan,” he added.
During the hearing, victims recounted different modus operandi employed by traffickers to evade strict immigration inspection. Victims also recounted the use of fake airport passes and fake immigration stamps, transiting via third countries, and traveling through backdoor channels to be transported in different Asian countries to work for crypto scam syndicates.
Tansingco likened trafficking operations to running water. “Ang modus ng mga ito parang tubig. Kapag hinigpitan mo, maghahanap at maghahanap ng butas para doon lumabas,” he lamented.
He then called on other government agencies involved in trafficking to work together to identify, arrest, and file cases against illegal recruiters who prey on the vulnerabilities of people.
BI arrests American wanted for rape
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said its operatives arrested an American national wanted by authorities in the State of Texas for sexually assaulting a disabled woman three years ago.
In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the fugitive as Calvert Leroy Cummings, 68, who was arrested last January 17 in a subdivision in Novaliches, Quezon City by elements from the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU).
Tansingco said Cummings’ arrest was sought by US authorities in Manila, who requested his deportation so he could stand trial for his crime.
Cummings will be deported after the BI Board of Commissioners issues the order for his summary deportation, the BI Chief said, adding that the American will be placed in the immigration blacklist and banned from re-entering the country.
According to BI-FSU Chief Rendel Ryan Sy, Cummings was issued an arrested warrant by a court Aransas County, Texas in September 2019 after he was indicted on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a disabled person.
He fled to the Philippines afterwards to evade arrest and prosecution for his offense.
Cummings is now temporarily held at the BI’s Warden Facility inside Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig pending deportation proceedings.
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