Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado vowed to keep pushing for reforms in the Bureau of Immigration (BI) amid the smear campaign against him.

“If the price of reform is to be the target of black propaganda, then so be it,” said Viado in a statement on Monday, June 9.

Viado issued a statement in response to accusations of corruption hurled against him through a “white paper” that claims to be from concerned BI employees and has allegedly reached Malacanang.

“So, for the record, I unequivocally state that all the allegations contained in the alleged ‘white paper’ are patently false,” Viado said.

“Should any pertinent agency of the national government decide to look into the supposed ‘allegations,’ I reiterate the commitment of the Bureau to lend its fullest support. This is the same commitment I have extended to the Committee of Senator Imee Marcos,” he assured.

Viado vowed to expose those behind the black propaganda that accused him of corruption.

“I warn these parties in turn that they shall be exposed in due time,” he said.

He also said: “The public deserves the truth and the truth will stand. We have already identified the parties behind this orchestrated and well-funded campaign aimed at shoving the agency into negative limelight once again. We shall expose these parties at the appropriate time and venue.”

At the same time, Viado said he has already informed Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla about the developments including the identities and the motives of the parties behind the smear campaign.

He disclosed that he has received warnings on “the possible retaliation coming from vested interests whose erstwhile prolific underground operations at the BI have been thwarted and halted by our ongoing reforms.”

“We have also been warned that a senior BI official, who is now pretending to be a whistleblower and who tried to pressure the Office of the Commissioner to release a Chinese national linked to a powerful political figure from the previous administration, could be behind this smear campaign,” he said.

“My rejection of the plea by this person to release the said Chinese national may have fueled the smear campaign,” he also said.

He also noted that “a handful of employees who have been subjected to our ‘one-strike policy’ are working closely with the said parties.”

A news report has already come out on a letter addressed to President Marcos from anonymous and concerned BI employees who accused Viado of corruption.

Among the many accusations, the supposed letter claimed that Viado issued a release order on behalf of three influential bosses behind the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub at the RiRance Building in Tambo, Parañaque City and they are Wang Qixin, Chen Jiangsong and Luo Shangfen.

The letter also claimed that Viado recently stopped the transfer to the BI detention facility in Taguig City of 39 foreign nationals who were caught illegally working at Udenna Tower in Taguig City.

It said the 39 foreigners were instead confined at the BI’s conference room and may soon be allowed to post bail.

It also claimed that BI Board of Special Inquiry Chairman Gilbert Repizo also made a Facebook post that questioned the special treatment despite the order to transfer them to the BI detention facility.

The letter also alleged that Viado negotiated the release of 114 foreign workers of the POGO Asian Gaming Technology following their arrest by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) last March 19.

Source: Manila Bulletin.