「日刊まにら新聞」ウェブ

Detainees in the Immigration facility in Taguig City will not be allowed to use gadgets until reforms are properly implemented within the detention center, a Bureau of Immigration official said on Wednesday night.

"Definitely we are going to implement stricter measures actually were still on a heightened security in our warden facility so they are unable to use their gadgets these are not allowed there is still no authorization issued for (the use of) these gadgets," BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said in a press conference in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The press briefing was held after two remaining Japanese fraud suspects believed to be behind a series of robberies across Japan were deported from the Philippines late Wednesday night local time.

Police arrested Yuki Watanabe, 38, and Tomonobu Kojima, 45, on their flight back to Japan.

The two had been detained at an immigration facility along with two other Japanese suspects Kiyoto Imamura, 38, and Toshiya Fujita, 38, both of whom were arrested Tuesday aboard a plane bound for Japan from the Philippines.

Sandoval said the heightened security that was raised following the recovery of gadgets during a raid last January 30 may be lifted until they "are able to implement changes, more changes inside the facility to ensure its security."

"There is a specific time schedule in the use of the gadgets and it has to be authorized first by the commissioner and off course they are only able to use it supposedly for their families, their lawyers and their embassies," she said.

"It's part of the monitoring of our personnel at the warden facility and we have to ensure that they are only contacting those who are they were authorized to contact," she added.

Sandoval noted that the BI's policy for the use of gadget will remain the same but adjustments were made to improved the security in the detention center.

"It's still the same, they have to be authorized first by the commissioner. We have also adjusted our policy by separating the holding are of those who are tagged as fugitives of justice from those other who have immigration violation because we see that there might be more security preparations of actions that need to be done in connection with fugitive of justice," she said.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco also announced the issuance of the notices to explained for the 36 Immigration officials and members who were relieved from their post following the recent recovery of gadgets inside the warden facility.

"Notices to explain were issued today in relation to possible violation of existing rules and regulation and as mentioned by the Secretary he will (go) to the bottom of this issues and disciplinary actions can be made for those who are violating the rules," he said.

"The notices to explain is actually the first step in the investigation. So much so that if we will find probable prima facie evidence, they will be formally charged and upon formal charge, the suspension will follow so we have to follow the procedure and the due process," he added.

Tansingco said the 36 BI personnel "are presently reassigned to the administrative division at the main office pending the investigation".

Sandoval said "usually the notices to comment is 72 hours from the time that it was issued so probably within the week or early next week it will be forwarded to the Department of Justice."

As part of the government's effort to prevent the filling of contrived cases, Assistant Justice Secretary Mico Clavano, DOJ spokesman said Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla is working out the case build up rule to make prosecutors more cautious in filing cases.

"We will encourage our prosecutors to proceed with much caution from now on... We are now working out on the case build up rule which will raise the level from probable cause to reasonable certainty of conviction. So instead of filing cases on the basis of probable cause, now the prosecutors have to gather more evidence so that the only cases filed on court are those quality cases with evidence enough to produce that burden or that standard of evidence called reasonable certainty of conviction," he said.

"That is something that we are working out with the Supreme Court now and I believed that would help even in this situation where fabricated cases are filed on top of that,'' he added.

Clavano said there will be a prosecution integrity board.''

''It will be a program where there will be incentives and penalties for

prosecutors, incentives for those who have high conviction rate and penalties for those who insist on filing cases knowing that the evidence that they have is lower than which is required which is the reasonable certainty of conviction," he added. Robina Asido/DMS