BI commissioner ordered to explain deportation of Korean fugitive Hojun

MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Siegfred Mison has directed Associate Commissioner Gilberto Repizo to submit a full report on the exclusion proceedings of Korean fugitive Lim Hojun.

“We are directing Repizo to explain within 24 hours why he chose to ignore the law,” said Mison.

Repizo, as the commissioner-in-charge for port operations designated by Justice Secretary Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, exercises exclusive authority over all port operations, including designation of personnel and issuance of exclusion orders.

In a statement, Mison said Lim arrived on board China Southern Airlines flight number CZ397 from Guangzhou, China, on January 2 and was excluded by reason of a blacklist order based on a red notice in the Interpol database for fraud committed in Korea.

However, instead of sending him back to the port of origin (Guangzhou), he was boarded on a Korean Air flight to Seoul, South Korea on January 4.

“Associate Commissioner Abdullah Mangotara, who was officer-in-charge of the BI during my leave of absence on January 2, specifically gave the instruction that Lim should go through deportation proceedings, in case there is a request from the Korean government to take custody over his person,” said Mison.

Sought for comment, Repizo said in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer: “The ends of justice were served. We respected our arrangement with the Interpol. We gave due request to the Korean government. And Philippine public interest was not jeopardized as the fugitive was sent to his country of origin.”

The Philippine Daily Inquirer, quoting an unnamed source, earlier reported that Mison and Repizo have been on the hot seat in the past few months due to questionable decisions on criminal cases under their watch.

Mison was investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation after a Korean, accused of extortion by his compatriots, escaped twice while under BI custody.

Repizo was accused of accepting bribe money when he disallowed the deportation of suspected Chinese drug lord Wang Bo.

Repizo said Mison has made an issue out of nothing.  SFM