Remulla: BI legal dep’t helped fake corporations get visas

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday said that the legal department of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) helped fake corporations get pre-arranged employment (9G) visas.

“[C]orporations which are fake were able to get 9G visas from the Bureau of Immigration and it was with the help of the legal department of the Bureau of Immigration,” Remulla said in a media briefing.

The Justice Secretary made the remarks a day after meeting with Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco at the Department of Justice.

The BI is an attached agency of the DOJ.

Remulla said thousands of visas were issued to more than 500 corporations, with many used by employees of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

“Ayun nga, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. I will be asking for a fuller investigation and that’s what we discussed yesterday,” he said.

According to Remulla, some lawyers may be held accountable for the issue.

However, he said they did not have specific names yet.

“But you can look up the names of the legal officers of the Bureau of Immigration and who constitutes the legal department. I don’t know. Those who have been there for the past ten years would know,” the Justice Secretary said.

GMA News Online has reached out to the BI's legal division for comment.

Remulla said he has asked Tansingco and the BI to refrain from granting visas to sole proprietorships and only grant these to corporations that have the stamp of approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The BI suspended the acceptance of visa applications with single proprietorship effective December 12, 2023.

Remulla added that he wants the return of old employees to preserve the Immigration bureau's records. He said Tansingco vowed that his requests would be implemented.

“Well, it will be done, sabi niya. But we’ll see, we’ll see,” he said.

Remulla also said the BI moved slowly in having the visa processing group reorganized without the involvement of the legal office, which he said was “in the center of the issuance of these visas.”

The Justice Secretary said he would give the BI until the end of January for things to be done.

“But I am challenging them. I am challenging the Immigration Commissioner to put this matter as a priority so that we stop making a fool of Filipinos that we are supposed to protect,” he said.

Remulla first revealed the issue in November 2023 after he recommended to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. that a third-party issuer handle the visas of Chinese nationals. — BM, GMA Integrated News