By Ma. Cristina Arayata/Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has intensified its anti-corruption campaign as part of its Integrity Management Program, Port Operations Division chief Grifton Medina told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday.
“The program is already in place, and we made a commitment with the OP (Office of the President) and the Ombudsman to further intensify our anti-corruption measures,” he said.
Medina said the BI came up with preventive measures so immigration officers would think twice if he or she would do something illegal.
“We need to identify the risks of corruption. There are those who get tempted to accept bribe. So we’ve implemented some preventive measures,” he remarked.
Aside from placing more CCTVs, Medina said the BI has also placed gadgets in their machines.
“They (officers) would think twice if they would be corrupt. For one, they would be seen by other personnel. Second, their chief might also see what they’re doing on their computers,” Medina said.
Medina also clarified that corruption among immigration officers does not only involve accepting bribes.
“If they allow minors to leave, if there are discrepancies in the passenger’s documents and passport, or if the passenger has no visa and yet they allow that person to leave, these are also a form of corruption,” Medina clarified.
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