Tuwid na Daan worked for the first 5 years--at the Bureau of Immigration

Let's tell it like it is---Tuwid na daan worked for the first half of the Aquino administration especially in instilling good behavior among members of the Philippine bureaucracy. For some, like the Bureau of Immigration, five years. I personally witnessed it.

Yes, there are still a few rotten eggs there, yet, they have been so marginalized that every single time they do an illicit act, it reaches the Commissioner's office, and this office acts swiftly in cutting them down to pieces. These people were given either the boot or were filed administrative and criminal cases.

Those who chose the straight path were given serious responsibilities, appointed to good posts and awarded thru merit. BI Commissioner Siegfred Mison did a good job instilling discipline among rank and file members of the bureau.

The problem lies when the time comes for election time. Appointees felt responsible for shoring or sourcing of electoral funds for administration candidates that these appointees allow themselves to dip their fingers unto the corruption pond. This is probably allowed up to a certain degree in some government agencies, but when it comes to the Bureau of Immigration, this is surely one thing that I described as Non-tolerable because an illicit act done here affects national security.

Why do I say that?

An illicit act here means letting foreign criminals, even terrorists, loose INSIDE the country. Most of the funds which syndicate members make here come from processing papers of foreign fugitives. When we allow one criminal to actually reside here for a very long time, we do a great disservice to the people. This is not like allowing one container full of smuggled sugar here or cutting a commission out of a billion peso project---an illicit act done in violation of our border control impacts directly on national security. Imagine, allowing a terrorist full of money to enter the Philippines and train rebel militias in Mindanao? No amount of money would suffice to actually cover the disastrous costs of such act!

One criminal allowed entry means a thousand Filipino lives affected. One OFW allowed to leave and work in a war-torn country or thru human smuggling adds to the thousands of problem cases now being handled by government. These things are irreplaceable by money.

A source says as much as 6 million pesos are generated every month for syndicate members operating in our airports. ARe these people getting enough sleep, thinking that the monies they got from a human smuggler would lead to misery for the victim or even considering those thousands or millions received from a foreign criminal, a notorious drug or gambling lord such as Wang Bo?

That explains why being a Commissioner of this bureau entails a lot of courage and political will on the part of the person appointed. You do a juggling act.