Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla is fine with the idea of removing the Bureau of Immigration from the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice, saying that in other countries, Immigration is a different department.
“In fact, in several countries right now… the highest paid government officials are in Immigration. Now, in the Philippines, the salary grade in BI is very low. That’s why we have to modernize and upgrade it,” Remulla said.
He added that separating the two agencies would be difficult because of the “intimate relationship” between immigration and the law, adding that the current immigration law is “very obsolete” as it was written and passed in 1939 “when airplanes were not yet the common form of transportation.”
“Hopefully, we can do something to strengthen the Immigration Department. That’s one of the points of entry of all these criminals who prey on children, so that’s why we need to fix the immigration law,” Remulla said.
The Justice chief also urged the BI to clamp down on individuals involved in the exploitation of children.
To recall, Remulla said the administration will not hesitate to “charge” and “prosecute” all individuals who are directly and indirectly participating in child exploitation, stressing that the agency would move to include the Department of Education in the war against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
“That’s the advancement taken, we will involve the Vice President, or Secretary of Education, next time. We will ask for her help also and assistance in dealing with this problem,” Remulla said.