Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday, March 6, expressed concern over a Korean fugitive who allegedly escaped the Bureau of Immigration (BI) detention center.
“Mainit-init pa po ang balita. We have received credible information from sources na nakatakas umano itong pugante kahapon lang, habang papunta siya sa hearing niya sa Quezon City. Is this true? Kung totoo, ang tanong: Nakatakas nga lang ba o pinatakas? At the very least, this is gross negligence on the part of the BI,” said Hontiveros said.
She called on law enforcement to investigate immediately, stressing, “Hindi pwedeng pagala-gala lang sa bansa natin ang isang kriminal.”
The fugitive, Na Ikhyeon, a South Korean national, was arrested in Clark, Pampanga, in 2023 for assuming a false Filipino identity. He is also wanted in South Korea for his involvement in large-scale fraud.
“Our Senate Committee on Women hearings showed that a lot of POGO actors also pretend to be Filipinos, kaya hindi ako magugulat kung itong pugante ay involved din sa POGO. Marami ding mga taga-POGO ay kasali sa mga fraud o scamming operations, kaya malamang may koneksyon din siya sa mga scam hubs dito sa bansa,” the senator said.
Hontiveros also criticized the BI for its repeated failures. She cited a Senate Subcommittee on Justice and Human Rights hearing where it was revealed that the BI was unaware that three Chinese POGO bosses, ordered for deportation, never arrived in China.
“The bureau’s seeming — or deliberate — ignorance is astounding. Habang ang mga Pilipino hirap na hirap makalusot sa immigration counters, itong mga dayuhang pugante parang ang bilis nalang makawala. The BI has to seriously clean up its ranks. Kung hindi, patuloy tayong mapapasukan ng mga pugante’t kriminal,” she added.IMT
