THE PRESIDENTIAL Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) said the Office of the President and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) approved its recommendation to order the preventive suspension of 18 BI agents who allegedly attempted to extort P9 million from 15 Koreans they arrested last March 6 in Pampanga. “(W)e recommended that they be preventively suspended which the president and the bureau of immigration has acted upon,” PACC Executive Director Eduardo V. Bringas said in a press conference. PACC Commissioner Greco B. Belgica said further investigation indicates that it was not the first time that the same group attempted to extort from foreigners. He also claimed that the BI agents “name-dropped” both President Rodrigo R. Duterte and senatorial candidate Christoper Lawrence T. Go in the extortion. He added that the Koreans arrested were legally working in the country for a long time. Immigration Commissioner Jaime H. Morente asked Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra to order the preventive suspension of the BI agents. They also requested the NBI to conduct its own probe for filing of criminal charges. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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