Kuwestiyonable ang isinumiteng Ombudsman clearance ni Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansinco sa Malacanang para maitalaga bilang pinuno ng kawanihan.
Sa ipinadalang liham kay Ombudsman Samuel Martires ni Richard de Leon Cabochan Jr. na may petsang 19 Setyembre 202, kinuwestiyon niya ang clearance na inisyu kay Tansinco na may petsang 1 Setyembre 2022 ni Maria Agnes L. Forteza, Graft Investigation Officer I, na may control no. 22-259874-12.
Si Cabochan Jr. ay isang retiradong kawani ng Bureau of Immigration (BI) na nakatalaga sa Intelligence Division.
Sinabi niya na noong 21 Abril 2015 ay naghain siya ng reklamo laban kay Tansinco sa Ombudsman kaugnay sa umano’y pagkakadawit nito sa “Human Smuggling” kasama ang iba pang indibidwal.
“One of the respondents of the complaint is Atty. Norman Garcera Tansinco (“Atty. Tansinco™). Based on my records the last pleading I filed for the said case is a Supplemental Affidavit dated June 24, 2015,” ani Cabochan.
“In addition, 1 have also filed two other cases with your honorable office docketed as OMB CASE NO. IC-OC-14-1351° and OMB CASE NO. IC-0C-14-4768,” dagdag niya.
Kaya ganoon na lang aniya ang kanyang pagkadismaya nang mabatid na si Tansinco ay itinalaga bilang bagong commissioner ng BI ni Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Sa pagkakaalam ni Cabochan, bago maitalaga ang isang opisyal bilang pinuno ng ahensya ng pamahalaan, dapat ay may malinis itong record o background batay sa mga clearance na ipinagkakaloob ng iba’t ibang tanggapan ng gobyerno.
“To my displeasure, I came to know that Atty. Tansinco, a respondent of the abovementioned case, was the newly appointed Commissioner of the BI. The said event had me surprised because it is my understanding that to be a confirmed appointee of a head of a government agency, one must possess a “clean” record or background as evidenced by various clearances issued by concerned government offices of the Republic of the Philippines,” sabi ni Cabochan.
Batay sa imbestigasyon ni Cabochan, nakakuha ng “clearance” si Tansinco dahil sinabi nito na wala siyang nakabinbing kasong kriminal at administratibo sa Ombudsman.
“An investigation of the matter showed that Atty, Tansinco was able to obtain a “Clearance” stating that he has no pending criminal or administrative cases with your honorable office. To reiterate, the same was issued last 01 September 2022,” giit niya.
Ang lalong ikinagulat ni Cabochan na ang isinampa niyang human smuggling laban kay Tansingco ay dinidinig pa sa tanggapan ng Ombudsman at hindi pa nareresolba dahil wala naman siyang natanggap na anomang dokumento na nagsasaad na tapos na ito.
“I was surprised about this development considering that it is to my knowledge that the Complaint for the alleged Human Smuggling that I had filed is still being heard by your honorable office and has yet to be resolved considering that I have yet to receive any document from your honorable office of the results of the proceedings conducted,” ayon kay Cabochan.
“Despite such fact, it appears from the abovementioned document that the case I had filed was already resolved without me, the complainant, being duly informed of the same,” wika niya.
Taliwas aniya ito sa itinakdang patakaran na ang resolusyon sa anomang nakahaing reklamo sa Ombudsman ay dapat ipinababatid sa magkabilang panig, sa nagreklamo at sa inireklamo.
“It is my understanding that this runs counter to the established procedures in the resolution of filed complaints in your honorable office wherein the parties should be duly informed of the results of the proceedings. I further understand that this right to be informed of the results of the proceedings is part of the due process of law as it would allow the parties to seek relief from the decision by filing the appropriate action in case they disagree with the outcome of the proceedings.”
Lumalabas aniya na inalisan siya ng karapatan sa due process of law at tila pinagbawalan siyang maghain ng kaukulang aksyon sa mga hukuman upang kontrahin ang resolusyon ng Ombudsman sa kanyang reklamo.
“From the foregoing, it appears that 1 was deprived of the due process of law thus preventing me to file the appropriate action with your honorable office and if need be, with the appropriate courts of law to assail the decision or resolution of the complaint that I had filed against Atty. Tansinco. In turn, this could have prevented the issuance of a “Clearance” on behalf of Atty. Tansinco.”
“Section 12 Article XI of the 1987 Constitution states that: “The Ombudsman and his Deputies, shall act promptly on complaints filed in any form or manner against public officals or employees of the Government, or any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations, and shall, in appropriate cases, notify the complainants of the action taken and the result thereof.”
Umaasa siya na magsasagawa ang Ombudsman ng imbestigasyon hinggil sa iregularidad ng pag-isyu ng clearance kay Tansinco kahit may nakabinbin pang mga reklamo ng human smuggling laban sa kanya at sampahan ng administratibong kaso ang nasa likod nito.
“(2) For your honorable office to issue the appropriate action to hold in abeyance the effectivity of the “Clearance” released by your honorable office as it can cause an irreparable injury if the same is used for the purpose intended and yet the same is proven to be unfounded; and
(3) Assuming that the said cases have indeed been resolved, 1 respectfully request for a copy of the Order/Resolution for the said cases so 1 could file the necessary pleading with your honorable office or with courts of law.”
