In a Report dated 4 June 2013, the DOJ-NBI Fact-Finding Team, which was constituted thru Department Order No. 204 dated 26 March 2013, to conduct a fact-finding investigation into the unrecorded/undocumented departure from the Philippines, on 19 March 2013, of PARK SUNGJUN (PARK) recommended that:
1. AUGUSTUS CAESAR MORALES, MA. ROSELLE A. SACENDONCILLO, and FERNANDO PEDRAJAS be charged for Bribery defined and penalized under Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended;
2. AUGUSTUS CAESAR MORALES, MA. ROSELLE A. SACENDONCILLO, and FERNANDO PEDRAJAS be charged for violation of Section 3(a) of Republic Act No. 3019;
3. AUGUSTUS CAESAR MORALES, MA. ROSELLE A. SACENDONCILLO, and FERNANDO PEDRAJAS be charged for violation of Section 7(d) of Republic Act No. 6713;
4. AUGUSTUS CAESAR MORALES, MA. ROSELLE A. SACENDONCILLO, and FERNANDO PEDRAJAS be administratively charged with grave misconduct;
5. ATTYS. ARVIN CESAR C. SANTOS and JING OLIVER A. BALINA be charged for violation of Section 3(j) of Republic Act No. 3019;
6. ATTY. ARVIN .CESAR C. SANTOS be administratively charged with gross neglect of duty;
7. ANNA PRIMEROSE L. MATI be removed from the lookout list;
8. The administrative proceedings instituted by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) against ATTY. JING OLIVER A. BALINA shall continue.
Except for PEDRAJAS, who is an employee of the Department of Transportation and Communications, Office of Transportation Security (DOTC-OTS), the above-named Individuals are all employees of BI.
It may be recalled that PARK SUNGJIJN, a Korean national, was included in the BI Blacklist pursuant to an Order of the Board of Commissioners dated 12 July 2012, for being undocumented and undesirable. The Order was issued in view of the request for assistance by the Korean Embassy from BI's Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) for the arrest and deportation of PARK SUNGJUN, who is wanted for fraud by the Busan District Court. FSU was further informed that PARK SUNGJUN's passport no. M88895209 was cancelled by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade effective 13 March 2012, and is the subject of the Interpol Red Notice.
On the unauthorized/unrecorded departure of PARK SUNGJUN from the Philippines, the Fact- Finding Team resolved that MORALES, SACENDONCILLO and PEDRAJAS knew that PARK SUNGJUN was included in the blacklist prior to his actual departure,and yet, they deliberately facilitated the latter's escape, in consideration for a certain amount of money.
The Team found that on 19 March 2013, SACENDONCILLO, Acting Immigration Officer at BI - Airport Operations Division at NAIA Terminal 2, processed PARK SUNGJUN's passport and stamped hisboarding pass; PEDRAJAS not only extended his stay at the airport or loitered around beyond his official duty hours, but also assisted/escorted PARK SUNGJUN from the departure hall all the way to the final x-ray examination area, without securing a pass, three (3) days prior to the actual departure of PARK SUNGJUN, which is clearly a violation of rules and procedures being observed by all other security screening officers; and that MATI had no participation in the subject incident. SACENDONCILLO alleged that MORALES, immigration officer and supervisor assigned at the arrival area of NAIA 2, instructed her, through a series of text messages, to allow PARK SUNGJUN to leave the country.
On the BOC's issuance of Summary Deportation Order against PARK and conversion of his visa from temporary visa to pre-arranged employee visa, the Fact-Finding Team found that since PARK SUNGJUN's passport was already cancelled on 13 March 2012 and an Interpol red notice was issued against him, he was no longer entitled to an extension or conversion of his temporary visa to a prearranged employee visa.
The BI's Centralized Query Support System (cqss) revealed that on 12 January 2012, PARK SUNGJUN arrived as a tourist in the Philippines and was authorized to stay for twenty-one (21) days. On 20 January 2012, he applied for and was issued a Special Study Permit, valid until 30 January 2013. On 11 April 2012, he also applied for extension as a temporary visitor and was allowed to stay until 11 May 2012.
Records show that on 31 May 2012, Atty. BALINA received the case folder of PARK SUNGJUN, and on the same day, he drafted the charge sheet and watch list order. On 29 June 2012, PARK SUNGJUN's application for employment visa was electronically raffled to BALINA. On 3 July 2012, he received PARK SUNGJUN's application and conducted the hearing the following day. On 9 July 2012, Atty. BALINA recommended the approval of the Section 9(g) visa to Atty. SANTOS. On the same day, the recommendation was forwarded to the Office of the Executive Director for approval.
The Team found that even if Atty. BALINA did not make conflicting recommendations between the two (2) cases, it appears that there was neglect on his part regarding on his action on the Section 9(g) visa application. Consequently, when the application for pre-arranged employment visa was raffled to him, he should have been immediately alerted upon seeing PARK SUNGJUN's name, despite the existence of the BI clearance. More so, because by virtue of the watch list he issued against PARK SUNGJUN, he supplied the name entered in the computer system.
In the same manner, Atty. SANTOS, being the Chief of the Law and Investigation Division (LID), is responsible for evaluating the recommendations submitted to him. As head of LID, he should have exercised prudence in examining the records forwarded to his office. Likewise, it appears that he was already informed of PARK SUNGJUN's status because of the pertinent documents initially indorsed to him.
Pursuant to said findings, the Fact-Finding Team recommends the filing of criminal and administrative charges against the above-mentioned individuals.
