Marcos axes BI chief after escape of former mayor to Indonesia
Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco has been dismissed from his post on Monday following former mayor Alice Guo’s escape to Indonesia in mid-July, according to the Palace.
In an interview with reporters, Acting Presidential Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez confirmed that President Ferdinand Marcos had approved Tansingco’s dismissal.
“Yes, the President has approved the dismissal of the current BI Commissioner,” Chavez said.
Marcos earlier vowed that “heads will roll”, saying that the culprits who helped Guo escape would be exposed.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said he discussed replacing Tansingco as BI chief with Marcos.
“I have asked the President to release him and replace him,” Remulla told reporters in a separate interview. “The President and I have agreed,” he said.
Asked why he was dismissed, Remulla replied: “I'm not satisfied. We had many problems.”
“The issuance of working visas is very questionable. I called his attention to it. He didn’t do anything about it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Tansingco told lawmakers in a Senate inquiry on illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) that he had not yet been “officially informed” about his dismissal.
“I have received it through the posts by media, but I have not yet been officially informed,” Tansingco said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
