THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has called on lawmakers to address a “sue me” scheme used by arrested foreign fugitives to delay their deportation. The BI claims that several cases involving arrested foreign fugitives have stalled due to pending criminal charges filed against them in prosecutors’ offices and courts.
According to the BI, some of these criminal charges filed against the fugitives have been found to be “arranged” in collusion with the complainants. BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado expressed concern, stating, “We need Congress to step in and introduce laws that prevent these delaying maneuvers. Without clear legal safeguards, we will continue to see fugitives manipulating the system.”
Viado’s appeal follows the re-arrest on March 9 of a South Korean fugitive, Na Ikhyeon, who had escaped from BI custody in Quezon City on March 4. Ikhyeon, wanted in South Korea for investment fraud, is facing an estafa charge in the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office, which has delayed his deportation. Viado warned, “If this goes unaddressed, then every fugitive will simply employ this scheme to delay their deportation once arrested.”
The BI is currently working with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), and the Supreme Court (SC) to address this issue.
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