FORMER Justice Secretary Leila de Lima Friday came to the defense of ousted Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Siegfried Mison and admitted she approved the transfer of Korean fugitive Cho Seongdae.
De Lima said Mison should not be held administratively liable for ordering the transfer of Cho from the BI Warden Facility in Taguig City to the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines detention cell in Quezon City because there were valid reasons to do so.
“I was informed about it and it was cleared with me. There was justifiable reason to transfer the subject Korean fugitive to a more secure place because of prior instances of escape,” De Lima said, in a text message.
“It was also my understanding that there were indications that BI personnel were involved, hence, it was no longer advisable or safe to keep that fugitive in [the BI] facility,” the former Justice secretary added.
Mison, who was removed from his post last month and was replaced by Commissioner Ronaldo Geron Jr., also denied liability.
“My decision to put the suspect under ISAFP custody had the approval of former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima,” Mison said.
“It was decided not on a whim or abuse of discretion but due to the exigency of the service and to find out more information regarding Cho’s connections within BI. Since I became Commissioner of the Bureau, I have never acted without the express approval of the Secretary of Justice,” he added.
The former BI chief stressed that he had the discretion to decide on the custody of any foreign national who has committed an immigration violation.
“In the case of Cho Seongdae, I deemed it proper to place him in what I thought as a more secure facility in Camp Aguinaldo, based on information available at hand and only after I got the approval of Justice Secretary De Lima,” Mison said.
Mison questioned the recommendation of the National Bureau of Investigation for filing of administrative charge of grave misconduct against him prior to his ouster.
Mison was reacting to Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas’ statement that the BI would continue to investigate the “possibility” of Mison’s accountability.
Caparas revealed the probe as he announced another reshuffle of about 200 Bureau of Immigration employees despite a ban on the transfers and movements of officers and employees in the civil service during the election period.
BI officials could not explain the basis or motive of the two plans, but Bi officials theorized that the moves may be connected to Mison’s order last year to limit the powers assigned to Associate Commissioner Gilbert Repizo after he was linked to the case of Chinese fugitive Wang Bo.
Repizo, who sources claimed is associated with Caparas, was stripped of some powers after he was blamed for the continued detention of Wang in the Philippines although he was already set for deportation to China, which had asked for his extradition over a criminal case.
Caparas said the BI will implement another administrative revamp although it is prohibited by the Omnibus Election Code and other election laws.