AN employee of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) was immediately fired from his job after he was arrested with several others for allegedly detaining a Chinese individual in a posh village in Muntinlupa City.

The BI did not identify the employee in its statement so as not to compromise an ongoing investigation.

The employee was arrested with nine other people in a police operation in Ayala Alabang.

The suspects allegedly misrepresented themselves as agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the employee identified himself as an immigration officer after he was accosted by operatives of the Southern Police District.

“Upon checking our records, we confirmed that he is not an immigration officer, but rather a job order employee,” Tansingco said.

“As a job order employee, he was not authorized to conduct arrests, and was actually assigned to do simple office tasks,” he added.

Job order employees are contractual personnel hired by a government unit to perform piece work — locally known as “pakyaw” — or intermittent or emergency jobs.

Job order employees do not have an employee-employer relationship with the agency that hired them for their services.

Upon learning of the incident, Tansingco ordered the immediate termination of the said employee.

The BI is also closely coordinating with the Philippine National Police to ensure that the filing of criminal charges against the employee is pursued.

“People like him tarnish the name of the bureau that we work so hard to improve,” Tansingco said.

“We will not tolerate any such illegal activities, hence we immediately terminated his services, and he will continue to face the criminal charges that might be fiLED AGAINST HIM,” HE SAID.

Warning

In a related development, Tansingco is warning all foreign residents and visitors to be wary of a fake BI order purportedly authorizing the conduct of operations against overstaying foreigners and on establishments that illegally employ foreigners.

In an advisory, Tansingco stated that he has not signed any order nor authorized anybody to conduct said operations for purposes of ferreting out illegal or overstaying foreigners.

“The operations order titled ‘checking overstaying and illegal employment in various entertainment places’ was not issued by the BI,” he added.

The fake order claimed that immigration personnel are directed to inspect entertainment places in Manila, including bars, KTVs, music houses, golf clubs, bowling alleys, internet cafes, amusement parks, casinos, hotels, guest houses and restaurants to search for illegal aliens.

“No such order has been issued by the BI. Our operatives are not authorized to randomly inspect establishments, but instead are required to secure a mission order to conduct an arrest. A mission order is only issued upon thorough investigation and confirmation that the subject foreign national has indeed violated immigration laws,” Tansingo said.