Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. has vowed to uncover those behind the alleged data breach in the passport system as well as the “yellows” who orchestrated the existing service contract to manufacture the E-passport.
In a series of fiery tweets over the weekend, Locsin suggested that a Senate probe should be put in order to unmask those who perpetrated the crime and the Department of Justice to file the appropriate charges.
“I will autopsy the yellows who did the passports deal alive. This is called evisceration,” Locsin said, apparently referring to people who were closely identified with the Aquino administration.
Locsin’s reactions came following reports that former private contractor, Oberthur, reportedly ran away with all the passport data when its contract was abruptly terminated to give way to the entry of APO Printing Unit, a tiny and little-known division under the Presidential Communications Operations Office which was formerly known as the Office of the Press Secretary.
Oberthur is a French company that was hired by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas through bidding to supply all the materials necessary to produce the machine-readable electronic passports.
On the other hand, the BSP was the official printer of Philippine passport from 2006 to 2015. Its agreement with the Department of Foreign Affairs was terminated three years ago to give way to APO’s entry.
Locsin said the current problem that the DFA is facing started under the administration of President now Pampanga Rep. Gloria M. Arroyo and “got worse” under the term of President Benigno S. Aquino III.
“It will be solved by PRRD’s (President Rodrigo Duterte) DFA under Locsin. The yellow crowd who perpetrated the passport fraud are in panic because we are gonna autopsy their crooked deal. Period,” he said.
He further assured that “no power on Earth” could stop him from unraveling the truth behind the passport mess. “I just want it fixed and not repeated,” the Foreign Affairs chief said.
Since Locsin assumed office last October, his Twitter account has been swamped with complaints from netizens about the new DFA regulation requiring those who are renewing their passports to present their birth certificates.
Many of those complaining are OFWs posted abroad who were not given prior notice about the new DFA requirement.
“Don’t pray. Prey on the guilty in 2 administrations I will f*** them dry. Notice the yellow panic? A Yellow woman was part of it,” Locsin said. (Roy C. Mabasa)
