4 immigration officials relieved over alleged anomalies

(Updated 3:52 p.m.) Four airport-assigned officials of the Bureau of Immigration have been removed from their posts, pursuant to the Department of Justice's directives to clean the bureau's ranks amid human trafficking cases and the alleged special treatment accorded to Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. According to a statement from the Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), those removed from their posts were senior immigration officer and BI airport operations divisions head Ferdinand Sampol, assistant commissioner Edgardo Mendoza, special assistant to the commissioner Franklin Littaua, and technical assistant to the commissioner Teodoro Delarmente. Their appointments to the airports have been recalled, thus, they would be transferred to the BI main office in Manila. Lawyer Arvin Cesar Santos has been designated as the acting BI airport operations divisions chief. The statement quoted Justice Undersecretary Jose Salazar, who heads the IACAT, as saying that "the top-to-bottom movements being implemented at the BI were part of the [DOJ's] unwavering and no-nonsense campaign to eradicate human trafficking elements, especially at the country's main airport." The IACAT said the revamp stemmed from their alleged connivance with human trafficking syndicates. The Philippines is in danger of losing some $250-million in aid from the US State Department if it does not improve its prosecution of human trafficking suspects by February 2011. (See: RP in danger of losing $250-M US aid vs trafficking) Last week, Justice Sec. Leila de Lima said she was mulling an overhaul of BI personnel assigned to airports following the arrest of Singson at a Hong Kong airport for carrying drugs. De Lima questioned why Singson managed to leave the Philippines while in possession of illegal narcotics. (See: De Lima orders BI probe of Singson's drug case) A GMA News report had earlier aired a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing Singson slipping past security checks at the airport. — Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMANews.TV