BI officer axed for 19 Pinoys’ illegal departure

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has relieved one of its officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for allegedly assisting 19 Filipinos in illegally leaving the country last month.

Ronna Mae Villanueva, a member of the agency’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit, has been given 72 hours to explain why she should not be administratively charged for clearing 19 Filipinos go to the United Arab Emirates and Singapore on eight different occasions despite their failure to present proper travel papers, BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said in a statement yesterday.

Villanueva has been reassigned to the BI’s main office while waiting for the results of the board of discipline’s investigation.