“Ease of doing business”

In a recent editorial we posed the question why the Philippines was attractive to foreign fugitives seeking to establish their own criminal enterprises here. One of the things we posited was that some people in Immigration were so open to letting anyone in, even those who should not be let in.

Now a recent development seems to have confirmed that suspicion; the Bureau of Immigration (BI) recently dismissed four lawyers in its legal department in connection with their investigation into what has come to be called a visa scam.

In this activity, some Immigration personnel allegedly readily granted 9(g) visas to foreigners. The 9(g) visa, also known as the Pre-Arranged Employee Visa Commercial, is the most common type of work visa applied for by foreign nationals who want to work here.

Normally, a 9(g) application has to be accomplished with the sponsorship of an employer already waiting here. But with the visa scam some BI workers allegedly arranged for 9(g) visas for some foreigners even if they have no such employer sponsoring or waiting for them. It was suspected that those who were let in were recruited by crime syndicates as well as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs).

For those foreigners seeking to build their own criminal empire here it’s some of the BI personnel’s twisted form of “ease of doing business”, if you will.

How easy was doing business? According the BI some 400 people from outside the Philippines were “petitioned” by fake companies. There was no information regarding how many of that number actually entered the country. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla even places the number of 9(g) visas issued at "thousands".

Let’s give those four dismissed lawyers the benefit of the doubt; everyone has to be presumed innocent before being found guilty in the court of law. But if indeed they were somehow involved in the scam then this just goes to show deep crime and corruption have penetrated some of our government offices.

Like we also said in that same editorial, we must make our country as unattractive as possible to those who just want to pursue their criminal enterprises here.