BI probes work permit mess

The authority of the heads of satellite offices of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to issue special working permits (SWP) to foreigners has been revoked.

The office of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the move is to stop the reported irregularities in the issuance of SWP that centered on a BI satellite office located in a mall in Taguig City.

The bureau issued 185,009 special working permits in 11 months compared to alien employment permits issued by DoLE from 2015 to 2017.

The officials and personnel of the said BI office had also been reassigned and are now the subject of an investigation after a lawmaker claimed SWP had been issued there indiscriminately purportedly as a money-making scheme.

The lawmaker said the BI office charged applicants P5,000 each without receipt to expedite and facilitate the processing of SWP intended only for specialized workers, like artists and basketball “imports” with working contracts not extending past six months.