New immigration chief named

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has named a lawyer and former congressional chief of staff as new immigration commissioner.

Norman Garcera Tansingco has been appointed commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles confirmed in a statement yesterday.

He replaced Rogelio Gevero Jr., who was designated as the bureau’s officer-in-charge last month.

According to an article posted on the website of state-run People’s Television (PTV), Tansingco worked at the bureau for nearly 10 years from July 2007 to January 2017 as chief of staff of former commissioner Marcelino Libanan, now the House minority leader and representative of 4Ps party-list.

The new immigration chief was concurrent technical assistant for operations under the Office of the Commissioner and attorney III of the bureau’s special inquiry board.

Before working for the immigration bureau, Tansingco was Libanan’s chief of staff at the House of Representatives from July 1998 to June 2007, PTV reported. Libanan was representative of Eastern Samar’s lone district at the time.

The new immigration chief is a certified public accountant and was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1991.