A Department of Justice order superseding all personnel order issued by Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente has created confusion among employees of the bureau, an immigration official said Friday.
An immigration official, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, said 30 out of the 50 personnel orders Morente issued last week to reorganize the BI has been superseded by another order signed by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, transferring the officers to other posts.
Under the department order, the bureau’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) and the Border Monitoring and Security Unit (BMSU) which were then under the office of the commissioner are now under the Port Operations Division (POD).
The BI employees said they are now in a sticky situation because it was not yet clear who are the designated proper authorities to sign significant documents which started to pile up since last week.
“Because of the DO issued by the Secretary of Justice, the vacant key positions are the intelligence division, executive director, chief of staff, TCEU and BMSU,” the BI official said.
The BMSU replaced the NAIA-BI intelligence unit which previously handled the job of monitoring and profiling travelers entering and exiting the country’s premiere port.
BMSU personnel are principally tasked to be on the lookout for foreign travelers whose presence here could pose a threat to national security and public safety, such as suspected international terrorists and drug traffickers.
They are also tasked to monitor and thwart any attempts to smuggle illegal aliens into the country and prevent the departure of human trafficking victims.
“The BMSU is now under the POD, which oversees the agency’s operations in the different international airports and seaports,” the BI said.