Aquino ally to assume Bureau of Immigration post

MANILA, Philippines - A partymate of President Aquino will assume today his post as an associate commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

Abdullah Mangotara, 58, will fill up one of the two posts for associate commissioner in the BI that have been vacant since November last year.

The President has yet to appoint the other associate commissioner.

Mangotara, who served for two terms as congressman of Lanao del Norte, took his oath before Justice Secretary Leila de Lima last May 17. The BI is an attached agency of the Department of Justice

Mangotara, a lawyer by profession, will sit as a member of the three-man BI board of commissioners, which is chaired by BI commissioner Ricardo David. The board hears and deliberates on deportation cases and on visa applications of foreigners who wish to obtain residency in the Philippines.

David welcomed the appointment of Mangotara, saying that the former lawmaker’s expertise will greatly help the bureau in pushing for the enactment of the new immigration bill.