MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice ordered the filing of criminal and administrative cases against Immigration personnel for the escape of a wanted Korean.
Ordered charged for Bribery, violation of the Anti-Graft Law, Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees and Grave Misconduct include Immigration Officer/Supervisor Ma. Roselle Sacendoncillo, who is also acting Immigration officer at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, and Fernando Pedrajas from the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
Meanwhile, lawyer Arvin Cesar Santos, chief of the Law and Investigating Division of the Bureau of Immigration, and lawyer Jing Oliver Balina will be charged with a separate case for violation of the Anti-Graft Law. Santos will also be administratively charged with gross neglect of duty.
The case stemmed after Park Sung Jun who is wanted for an investment scam in South Korea managed to sneak out of the country last March 18.
Sung Jun has been included in the Immigration blacklist in 2012 for being undocumented and undesirable. The order was issued upon the request of the Korean Embassy.
After Park Sung Jun’s passport was canceled by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on March 13, 2012, he became the subject of the Interpol Red Notice.
The DOJ said the Immigration officers knew well that Park SungJun is in the blacklist, yet Sacendoncillo processed his passport and stamped his boarding pass while Pedrajas not only extended his stay at the airport but also escorted him from the departure hall all the way to the final x-ray examination area without securing a pass three days prior to actual departure.
The DOJ said Balina approved the pre-arranged employee visa application of Park Sung Jun and forwarded it to Santos’ office instead of alerting the bureau. Santos, on the other hand, should have been more prudent in evaluating the records forwarded to his office.