THE PUBLIC be forewarned that there is an impostor who has been calling me and saying he is Atty. Mike Arroyo, the President’s husband, but every time I return his calls or his messages, he refuses to acknowledge or answer his cell phone.

Curious, I had his messages monitored, and it appears that this person is also using the name of Speaker Nograles for certain activities which are obviously illegal in nature. Fortunately, we are about to zero in on this person and it may not take long before we get hold of his neck. I warn the public that this person may victimize others who are unknowing of his nefarious activities or his modus operandi.

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In the Bureau of Immigration (BI), we have an employee working as a fingerprint examiner, now assigned in Region 6, with a salary of about P12,000 a month. But, wonder of wonders, without any other sign of other lucrative sources of income except from his employment, this employee is now building a property in Silay City worth P19 million, in a village called barangay Guihalaran (literally “was gifted”), based on the records of the Assessor’s Office in that city. Not only is this obvious grafter building this multimillion-peso edifice, he also bought a beachfront property of some 2,000 square meters, and he owns several branded cars like an Isuzu Sportivo, a Crosswind AUV, a Sportage Kia and a Honda CRV. So how does he do it?

Discreet investigation revealed that this “gifted” BI employee is using his position and connections with the immigration bureau to provide protection to illegal aliens for a price. He owns a travel agency which he uses to process visas for foreign students and illegal aliens, from whom he allegedly charges from P25,000 to P40,000 per illegal alien. He operates a beach resort called “Kikay Beach” which is said to camouflage the presence of illegal aliens as tourists.

In the face of such obvious wealth, he tells everyone that he won the lotto, and I wonder whether the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office has a record of his winnings. National Bureau of Investigation findings show that this “lucky and gifted” BI employee has a common-law wife in Silay City in whose name many of his illegally amassed pieces of property are registered. It is also reported that he has a real wife in Iloilo, but he has not assigned the ownership of his many illegally acquired pieces of property with his real wife, with whom he has several children. I have already directed BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan to relieve this employee and have him investigated for unexplained wealth and for his illegal activities, which are all contrary to law and punishable under RA 3019 and 1379. Yes, we will throw the book at him because he has not only broken the law, he has betrayed his country!

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There was an explosion on the road going to the municipality of Placer in Masbate a few hours before President Arroyo and members of her Cabinet arrived for a Cabinet meeting. It is said the New People’s Army (NPA) was behind the explosion, obviously to discourage the President from visiting the countryside, especially those needing government assistance like rebel-infested areas. Leaders of the NPA have time and again exhibited a diabolical mind intent on spoiling the President’s Masbate visit, which aims to bring the blessings of the government into that province and its people. This is a cowardly act that should be condemned, but on the other hand, we are relieved that whatever sinister plans the NPA were hatching in their minds, it failed miserably, and the President was able to complete her successful visit, bringing focus to many depressed communities in that province.

In fact, there is no denying how the President works day after day, in some instances, far into the night, to find solutions to national ills, most of which are not of her own making. And, of course, we thank Kind Providence that for all the risks the President has taken in her determined visits to all the nooks and corners of this country, we discerned that she has been given the mantle of protection from above.

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Central bank records show that remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) jumped to a record 14.7 percent in five months to some $6.8 billion. This, despite the slowing global economic trend. According to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration records, this was due to the increase in overseas deployment, which reached 39.5 percent from last year’s figures, and also due to the increase in remittances in May when OFWs sent more money to their children back home to pay for tuition and other fees. We look at this with happiness and satisfaction because it appears that the threats of some groups to slow down or sabotage the inflow of foreign remittances simply did not work. The government and the President are most concerned of the sacrifices our OFWs experience each day while working abroad, but we are also thankful these sacrifices are rewarded through our country’s growing economic stability largely through their remittances. We salute you!

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