Together with the Philippine Retirement Authority and the Bureau of Immigration, to present
 RESPONSIBILITY from both 
sides, that more retirees and investors feel that the Philippines is a save Haven.

 

Random Selection - Philippine Press Review
11. July  2010 - by FAC  Daniel  Gonzales

Article  The Philippine STAR  from 15 July 2010

Atelevision documentary titled "Our Man in Manila" made its debut via German Cable Station DW-TV last July 2, detailing the plight of some foreigners who traveled to the Philippines and ended up being preyed upon by Extortion Syndicates. The documentary, dubbed in German and english languages, was aired in over 200 Countries, including the Philippines. The  program host, German engineer Alfred Lehnert, said the documentary featured the experiences of former detainees at the Bicutan  Jail who fell prey to notorious syndicates that made their lives difficult while in detention during the previous administration. Lehnert  commended the present BI Leadership under Immigration commissioner Marcelino Libanan for effecting the changes and instituting the prison reforms that inmates at the Bicutan Jail now enjoy. A former BI detainee himself, Lehnert recalled how previously arrested foreigners were harassed by currupt immigration officials through unjustified detention and indiscriminate filing of deportation cases. Lehnert, a civil engineer from Hamburg, claimed that he himself lost millions of pesos to the opportunist mafia. However, instead by buying his freedom, he said he fought for his rights until he was cleared of his cases and eventually released after languishing in Jail for 18 months. Lehnert later led the advocacy for the cause of other jailed foreigners by Organizing the Foreign Assistance Center (FAC) which helped facilitate the release of innocent detainees without paying anything. He hailed Libanan for helping him pursue his adbocacy on behalf of the detainees while encouraging more tourists to visit and invest in the Country.  

Article  Peoples Journal, 8. July 2010 by  Lee Ann P. Ducusin    

The Bureau of Immigration's detention center in Bicutan, taguig was recently cited for successfully transforming itself into a facility that promotes the welfare of its inmates. A television documentary entitled "Our Man in Manila" made its debut via German cable station DW-TV last July 2, detailing the plight of some foreigners who traveled to the Philippines and ended up  being preyed upon by extortion syndicates. The documentary, dubbed in German and English, was aired in over 200 countries  including the Philippines. The program host, German engineer Alfred Lehnert, said the documentary featured the experiences of  former detainees at the Bicutan jail who fell victim to notorious syndicates that made their lives very difficult while in detention during previous administrations. Lehnert commended the present BI leadership under Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan for effecting the changes and in stituting the prison reforms that inmates at the Bicutan jail now enjoy. A former BI detainee himself, Lehnert recalled how previously arrested foreigners were harassed by corrupt immigration officials through unjustified detention and indiscriminate filing of deportation cases. Lehnert, a cicil engineer from Hamburg, claimed that he himself lost millions of pesos to the "Opportunist Mafia".

Article  Tempo - News in a Flash,  8. July 2010 by Jun Ramirez

Wat used to be a crammed and unsanitary detention facility for foreigners was cleaned up and provided with services that promote the welfare of its inmates. This was the gist of a documentary film on the Bureau of Immigration (BI) detention center in Bicutan, Taguig City that was shown worldwide recently. The film, "Our Man in Manila", made its debut via  German cable station DW-TV last Julky 2, detailing the plight of serveral foreigners who traveled to the Philippines and ended up being  preyed upon by extortion syndicates. The documentary, dubbed in German and English, was aired in over 200 countries, including the  Philippines. Program host, German engineer Alfred Lehnert, said the documentary featured the experiences of former detainees at the Bicutan jail who were victims of notorious syndicates that made their lives very difficult while in detention during the previous administration. Lehnert commended the present BI leadership under Immigration Commissioner Marcelino C. Libanan for effecting the changes and instituting the prison reforms that inmates at the Bicutan jail now enjoy. A former BI detainee, Lehnert recalled how previously arrested foreigners were harassed by corrupt immigration officials through unjustified detention and indiscrinate filing of deportation cases. 

Article  Peoples Tonight,  8. July 2010 by  Itchie G. Cabayan

The positive reforms at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) continue catching the attention of and drawing praises from international communities. This was bared by Patch Arbas, BI's over-all Director for the national capital region, who said the Bureau's jail facility in Bicutan, Taguig was even recently cited for successfully transforming itself into a facility that promotes  the welfare of its inmates. Arbas said a television documentary titled, "Our Man in Manila" made its debut via German cable station  DW-TV recently where it detailed the plight of some foreigners who taveled to the Philippines and ended up being preyed upon by  extortion syndicates. Dubbed in German and English languages, Arbas said the documentary was aired in over 200 countries including the Philippines. Program host German engineer Alfred Lehnert said the documentary featured the experiences of former detainees at the Bicutan jail in the past, as they fell prey to notorious syndicates that made their lives difficult while in detention. In the same program, Lehnert commended the present BI leadership under Commissioner Marcelino Libanan for effecting the changes and instituting the prison reforms that inmates at the Bicutan jail now enjoy, including its present state of orderliness.

Court clears German of trafficking charges  / follow-up
03. July  2010 - Sun Star Cebu

Article  by  GMD

The establishment was ordered padlocked by the Mandaue City government in May 2009 for violating the City's anti-indecèncy ordinance. The closure came after the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group ( CIDG ) 7 operatives raided the complex, which hoeses Egypt Bar and Bounty Bar. The International Justice Mission ( IJM )  wrote Mayor Jonas Cortes and asked him to take proper action on the two bars. The CIDG raid resulted in the arresst of  its foreigner owners, Filipino bar administrators and the rescue of 46 women and 11 minors from the bar. Joachim Guilliard, who was misstated as one of the owners of a bar in Mandaue City, Cebu, has been found innocent. guilliard, a Swiss national, an Egyptian national and their local idministrators were charged with violating Republic Act 9208, or the Anti-Traf-Ficking in Persons Act. inhibited Guilliard's lawyers, Pedro Leslie Salva and Christine Ligtas, filed a motion to defer arraignment after Mandaue City RTC Branch 28 Judge Marilyn Yap inhibited from handling the case last Oct. 24. Salva told Sun Star Cebu, that Guilliard is not one of the owners of the complex. In his motion, Guilliard questioned the legality of his arrest and said the raid was illegal. The prosecution, though, insisted the operation was legal and valid. The prosecution said when authorities arrested the German national, he was committing the charged offense because he was "hiring and maintaining women and girls for prositution". But Judge Galanida said, the prosecution has not sufficiently or convincingly proved, that Guilliard is the owner of the complex. This Court can only wonder, why the reliable that IJM operatives who conducted the surveillance in the IBC ( Inernational Bar Complex ) since November 2007 were not able to detect that accused Guilliard is the owner or a part owner of the IBC, if such were the case, the Judge said. It does not appear in the case at bar that accused Guilliard has just commitred, is actually committing or is attempting to commit an offense when the police arrested him, she said. Galanida granted the motion to quash information filed by Guilliard's lawyers. She also ordered the Mandaue City Jail warden to release Guillird.


Senate ratifies RP Immigration Act of 2009 / follow-up
07. June 2010 - FAC Technical Writer

Article  Manila Bulletin, 6. June 2010 by Rolly T. Carandang

The new law also aims to streamline and strengthen the governmental structure charged with the admin-istration and enforcement of Immigration, asylum, and related laws rules and regulations to make them adaptive to the growing Immigration demands of the country. It also aims to professionalize the Immigration Service by instituting a rigid system of screening and selection of Imigration officials and employees. Under the provision en titled "Presidential Prerogatives," the President may. 1. Deny the entry and admission into the Philippines of any foreign national or a class of foreign nationals whenever the President finds that the entry would be detrimental to the interest of the Philippines or impose such restrictions as he may deem appropriate. 2. Waive passport and/or documentary requirements for Non-Immigrants and Immigrants under such terms and conditions as he may prescribe. 3. Change the status of Non-Immigrants by allowing them to acquire permanent residence status without necessity of a visa.

The Law also gives the President power to "deport any foreign national, subject to the requirement of due process, admit Non-Immigrants, not otherwise provided for in this Act, for humanitarian consideration and when not detrimental to public interest, under such terms and conditions as he may prescribe, and prohibit the departure from the Philippines of any person who is likely to disclose national security information, or who is likely to organize a rebellion abroad against the Philippines, or whose presence in the country is necessary to face or be a witness in criminal proceedings, and exercise with respect to foreign nationals in the Philippines such powers as are recognized by the generally accepted principles of international law."




Imprisoned in Paradise / follow-up

12. May  2010  FAC Technical Writer

Resourse Philippine Press release 4. May 2010

 The Philippines are the tropical dreamland of countless foreigners: business people, dropouts, tourists, tax evaders, sex addicts and paedophiles. Some of them stay on for good. And some of them land in prison, condemned by their guilt, own naivety or stupidity. Most of them deserved what they got, but a few are quite innocent, having been taken for a ride by their business partners or their Filipino wife.    Often they have to wait months or even years for trial, only to be forced, in the end, to buy their freedom off corrupt lawyers at a cost of many  thousands of euros.

 It`s raining. Thick clouds are hanging over the holiday island of Cebu like a damp cloth. The city prion at Mandaue is a fortress of barbed wire and  concrete. 600 prisoners are living here, squeezed into small cells each of which is shared by 14 detainess. Guilliard is the only one to have a cell to  himself. Ceiling fans stir the January heat above the inmates: murderes, rapists, conmen, slave tradres, thieves, and a few poor devils who haven`t  been able to afford a lawyer, while nobody really knows why they`ve been locked up at all – and then the German. In actual fact the evidence speaks  for him: witnesses have attested to his innocence. But that doesn`t interest anybody here, not the lady judge, not even his lawyers. He`s got to  prove his own innocence, they say. How ? Goodness knows. This is almost unbearable, he says, both mentally and physically. In the cell blocks it  stinks of urine, stale sweat and filth. Most of the time he reads, occasionally he has a look at Maischberger or Beckmann on satellite TV, or swots up  English and Filipino. Guilliard wants get on with his life. Mandaue is a kind of limbo.


Joachim Guilliard moved to the Philippines five years ago because he was fed up with cold, cloistered Germany. He was rich, having sold the firm which he owned. He wanted to spend the autumn of his life in the tropics, indulging his passion for diving, living without any worries in his smart villa with its private beach and swimming pool. Maybe he would invest some money in a holiday complex, just for the fun of it. The island of Cebu seemed like the very opposite of Germany, a paradise for dropouts and pensioners. Plenty of sunshine, beaches of white sand, beautiful girls hanging around in bars, coconut palms. Here he found other like-minded people who were bringing Germany overseas. One of these cultivated Guilliard`s favour and become his friend.

They went around together, visiting people, drinking cocktails in bars, grilling fish in Guilliard`s verandah. This friend was keen on setting up restaurants and bars of his own, but he needed money, lots of it.

Guilliard helped him out, sometimes with two million pesos, sometimes five. Again and again. „I don`t need to worry at all about money,“ he says. He wanted to help his friend. In the end he had invested some twenty million pesos, more than three hundred thousand euros, in another person`s dreams. Eventually he asked for his money back; almost immediately he was confronted by the police. They said he was intending to force young girls into prostitution in his friends bars. Now kindly come along and make a statement, they said. It`s just some kind of a mix-up, thought Guilliard, and he went along with them. Then he was thrust into a cell – without any arrest warrant, without his having made any statement, and without any interpreter to translate the accusations.

„I`ve never got into trouble in my life, I`m well off, I have a good reputation and I have a daughter of my oqn. It had to be simply a misunderstanding,“ says Guilliard, nine months later. „Why would I do such a thing ? In a bar which doesn`t even belong to me ?“ There are witnesses who have confirmed he is innocent – barmaids, waitresses, clerks.


In the meantime two judges have been superseded on grounds of partiality, while his lawyers are constandly demanding more fees, even though they themselves can hardly understand the complex laws relating to foreigners. Nothing has changed in his situation. Nobody tells him anything. All that is left to him is uncertainty. Guilliard continues to fork out, what else can he do.


A thin man is standing in front of the prison gate. He`s in a hurry. He is wearing a striped shirt and dark trousers, his face looks somewhat worn. In his hand he holds a briefcase with treasure inside – written permission from the Philippine Government to visit foreigners in prison alone, without supervision. Alfred Lehnert is head of the Foreign Assistance Center (FAC), a voluntary advice service for foreigners. Lehnert fights to get innocent foreigners out of jail – free of charge. He survives from day to day on donations. The angel of the prisoners is what they call him in Manila.


Lehnert fights a lone battle. True, the German Embassy hands any German Citizen who is arrested a list of lawyers, and supplies medicine for anyone who falls ill, but it doesn`t otherwise get involved. Only three times has anyone from the Embassy phoned Joachim Guilliard to ask how he is. „Three times in nine months!“ grumbles Guilliard, who feels he`s been left in the lurch. At present thisteen Germans are lingering in Philippine prisons. Over the last three years the 60-years old Lehnert has got sixty foreigners out of various prisons – German, Arabs, Canadians, New Zealanders, on one occasion he saved three Burmese refugees from deportation. Most of them had fallen out with a business partner or a wife keen to embezzle their investments, their wealth, their villas and yachts.


„You can buy witness statements for a couple of thousand pesos, that`s fifty euros,“ Lehnert explains. „Three of those are enough to get an unloved husband or a stubborn investor put away.“ The charges are always the same – infidelity, maltreatment of children, fake visas. Allegations as flabbergasting as a punch in the stomach – and difficult to disprove, too. Just as in Guilliard`s case. Soon the two men are sitting face to face in the German`s cell.


„Keep your chin up, Joachim ! We`ll soon get you out of here,“ exclaims Lehnert, clapping Guilliard on the shoulder.  „Alfred, I can`t stand it any longer. I can`t bear it !“


They confer about Guilliard`s case for two hours, discussing details, working out strategies to convince the judge and persuade her to set Guilliard free at last. Lehnert comforts him, gives him advice, promises help. „Joachim it`s only a question of time, and then you`ll be out of here.“ guilliard shakes his head. His shoulders are drooping. He lost all faith in his fellow beings long ago. Hope ? Any hope there is will only be dashed later on, he mutters. There`s a huge gap between German ideas of justice and Philippine reality. They`re two different worlds which have nothing to do with each other. And there`s no such thing as a quick fix. 


Lehnert knows what he`s talking about. A former civil engineer and millionaire, he came to the tropics „because of the climate and because of my back problems.“ He bought fast cars and expensive villias, and he got married. A few years later his wife made accusations against him and withdrew her backing for his visa. She just wanted to get at his fortune, he says. The charge against him was that he had sex with a married woman. That was in 2003. For eighteen months he was stuck in the notorious Bicutan prison for foreigners, in the military cantonment of Bagong Diwa on the outskirts of Manila. He lived among cockroaches, snakes and bed bugs“ as big as fingernails“. Instead of buying his freedom and agreeing to deportation he started to fight – he studied the law relating to foreigners, trawled through past cases and finally landed up in front of the Philippine Supreme Court – and won – the first foreigner to do so, acquitted on all counts. Lehnert is a stubborn man.


But his freedom had been won at a cost. While in detension his hair fell out, his sight deteriorated. Images of prison still flash through his dreams. His fortune was also squandered, spent on lawyers, trials and media campaigns. His wife had sold all his property and emigrated to holland with the money, taking their daughter wirh her. No right to compensation exists in the Philippines. Lehnert decided to stay on nonetheless, and start again from scratch - „I had nothing more to lose.“ He founded the Foreign Assistance Center (FAC)“ to fight for foreigners threatened by the same fate as mine.“ Germans in particular. Now Lehnert advices the Philippine Government on issues relating to foreigners, plays tennis with Ministers, has married a high ranking policewomen and helped draft an improved law on foreign residents. The old law was 69 years old, having been drawn up by US President Roosevelt in 1941, as part of the martial law framework, while the Philippines were a foreigners also have rights. Especially so that they can entice investors into the Country.“ He was once rich, but now he says he is happy to have found something „worth fighting for“.


Lehnert travels in a Taxi through the narrow streets of Cebu, past modern buildings of concrete and glass and ramshackle huts. Omnibus Taxi honk pedestrians out of their way, a smell of roast chicken floats in the air, love songs blare out of open windows. Lehn ert is going to visit some former clients. At the end of side street, on a hill with a view of the sea, 73-year-old Alfred Becker occupies a ground floor flat. A lukewarm wind is blowing in through the window, a glass of iced tea stands on the table, bad news from Haiti is being shown on the television. Becker`s young Filipino girlfriend Kezia is resting her hand on his knee. He tries to say a sentence in broken English, resorts to gesturing with his hands as the sentence breaks down. Kezia looks at him, smiling. His previous wife wanted to get him deported so that she could take over his flats, which were registered in her name, Becker explains. „The lying serpent actually maintained that I`d raped my daughter,“ says Becker, serving his guest small sausages with potato salad. Lehnert took on his case and won. He hands Becker a document acquitting him of guilt and permitting him to continue living in the Philippines.


The same thing happened to Fritz Strahl as to Becker. Sixty kilometres north of Cebu City, in Carmen, the 65-year-old says goodbuy to his life`s dream. He is standing in the garden of his seaside villa grilling tuna fish, with a bottle of San Miguel beer in his hand. He tells the same old story about a man who falls in love – or what appeared to be love – with an exotic women, a women looking for a short cut to riches. His wife ran off with another man after thirteen years of marriage, and made accusations against him in order to get her hands on the land which they jointly owned. Strahl had been sitting in the back seat of a car heading for the airport, wearing handcuffs, when Lehnert, having intervened with the head of the Foreigners Department, got him a last minute reprieve from deportation.


Lehnert`s ally in the battle against arbitrariness and corruption is Commissioner Marcelino C. Libanan, head of the Immigration Department. He is a heavily built man with spectacles and a Charles Bronson haircut, who describes himself as a „Boy Scot who upholds the law“, a ukulele is lying in his lap. „A decent fellow,“ says Lehnert. They meet once a week in Libanan`s office in the old quarter of Manila – to exchange news, to identify loopholes in the law which need plugging, to discuss ceses, or simply because Lehnert once again needs Libanan`s signature on a discharge document. Sometimes they just chat about family life.


Libanan took over the department from his predecessor three years ago. At that time it was known as one of the most corrupt offices in the country, with a licence for getting rich quick. During his time in office Libanan has turned it into one of the most exemplary offices, and of that he is proud. What has happened to foreign guests is a scandal. We`re not a crime syndicate any more. No more people are being thrown into prison without charge so that other can get rich. The times of greed and corruption in this department are past, says Libanan, holding up his right hand as if taking an oath. But if it wasn`t for Alfred`s struggle for justice nothing would probably have changed. Alfred Lehnert sips his coffee and smiles.


Meanwhile in Mandaue prison fate is dealing Joachim Guilliard some more blows. His girlfriend has confessed that she`s in love with another man. His lawyer still doesn`t know what to do next, and is asking for more money. Alfred Lehnert has been unable to contact the judge in charge of the case – apparently she is away on a business trip of indeterminate duration. Nobody is able to say whether or when Guilliard is to be released. Lehnert is furious. Someone`s life is being destroyed, and nobody cares ! He says, slapping his thigh with his hand. He is on the phone all the time, contacting clients, judges, politicains, lawyers. Then he goes to see his old friend Cardinal Vidal. Maybe the good cleric can do something with the lady judge, exert some influence. While he is traveling up the long drive of the cardinal`s residence, his phone rings. At the other end of the line is case number 61. another German is languishing in bicutan prison for foreigners, a diving instructor who has overstayed his visa by nine months. Alfred Lehnert clutches his head, but promises to help. The man was released from custody eight days later.

Resourse Philippine Press release 4. May 2010






Immigration confab picks Libanan chair

21 November 2009 - Philippine Daily Inquirer

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan has been unanimously elected chair of the Directors-General of Immigration Departments and Heads of Consular Affairs Divisions of the Ministries of Foreign affairs ( DGICM ) during its 13 th meeting hosted by the Philippines.
Director-General Dato Abdul Rahman Othman of Malaysia transfered the chairmanship of the DGICM to Libanan, and urged him to continue the DGICM's work in enhancing cooperation among its member countries on immigration matters.

"We believe that Commissioner Libanan can lead the organization into a new height so that it would actively respond to the growing needs of its member-countries in the field of trade, investment and tourism," Othman said.

DGICM, according to the immigration bureau's press statement, is a high-level ad hoc committee that was established to carry out specific, concrete and solid framework for immigration cooperation in the region. This year's DGICM aims to continue efforts to adress transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and tourism, while promoting regional trade, investment and tourism.

In her speech marking the opening of the annual regional meeting, Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said "no amount of latest technology can cope with the demand on border protection."

"We should be open to the realization of the problems that confront us. As we seek solutions, we should also consider ( each member-country's ) culture and beliefs. We should localize," Devanadera said.

Devanadera cited the DGICM for facilitating the sharing of information on immigration matters, which addresses the problems arising from the differences in cultures and local settings of the member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.





New Partnership between FAC and PRA   

  17. September 2009 - FAC-Technical Writer

W

e are working since 5 years with great success, to provide foreign Retirees or guests with their given RIGHTS under the Philippine Immigration Law, prevent them from harmful or unlawful acts, proceeded Complaints or Cases and give more Security to MEMBERS of the Philippine Retirement Authority. Our Foreign Assistance Center greet all Members of the Philippine Retirement Authorities and we wish to be at your legal side, as the first office in the Philippines, to assist all legal residing foreign Retirees, or coming Retirees, in all kind of IMMIGRATION questions, cases or Problems. The Philippine Government with the BUREAU of IMMIGRATION and the PHILIPPINE RETIREMENT AUTHORITIES supporting our F.A.C. office, to provide from our independent Organization foreigners with another culture or language. in more information for Security and Justice, even sometimes build bridges of understanding.

Here the Chairman of PRA , Gen. Edgar Aglipay - Welcome the Chairman of FAC Alfred Lehnert, to be interviewed by Europeans largest TV Station ARD from Germany, at September 8 - 2009.





The new Anti-Corruption policy of the Immigration Authority

12. September 2009 - FAC Technical Writer

Since Marcelino C. Libanan, the Philippine immigration Authorities took over as Commissioner in May 2007, was from the previously notorious corruption authority a prime example of the Anti-Corruption Authority. For this he received recognition not only domestically, but also earned international respect for its new Anti-Corruption Policy. Finally, the FAC owed by their new policy of immigration whose successes. As years Congressman M.C Libanan had various posts, including as Vice Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Communications or Chairman of the new Immigration Bill in Congress. At the time when Mr. Libanan the new immigration law organized, he met Alfred Lehnert In many discussions on the realignment of the Immigration Act and its sections, has been discussed sometimes violently on its interpretation and gained a relation of trust.

On the personal Invitation of former Justice Secretary Simon Datumanong and Chairman of the Committee of Justice in the House of Representative, Alfred Lehnert was invited to the Congress, to bring about his position paper on the New Immigration Act. Through this fruitful collaboration developed a mutual trust relationship that is reflected in the many successes. 


See our photo for shooting at - Military Camp Bagong Diwa - in red, the German Pilot R. Füssel, the Commissioner Libanan directly discharged from prison after Alfred Lehnert informed him from the unlawful arrest of Füssel. In green Dr. M. Bölk from German TV Team

The central argument of Mr Libanan reads: "The old days, when our authority had a reputation as a criminal syndicate, are finally over." And to make sure, I do not allow, that any Foreigner is harassed this way.





Three Refugees from Myanmar ( Burma ) 

 12. September 2009 - FAC-Technical Writer



Myanmar is a multi ethnic state in the Gulf of Bengal with its neighbors Thailand, China, India and Bangladesh. Since 1962 the military dictatorship came to power, many have left the country, they often use the difficult path of China's border. Of the nearly 48 million Burmese, the Myamma / Myanma make up almost 70% of the total population. Main religion is Buddhism. Burma is famous for its cultural treasures, such as the famous Golden Pagodane - Sewdagon - Many people try to escape the dictatorship, as our next real story of Escape, Three-Burman, who sought in the Philippines, her new happiness, but ultimately, because of the improper travel documents ended up in prison, Already in April this year, reported the newspaper published in Manila EXPAT about his release. The three Burman, Maung Maung Tin, Simon Lal Rin Dika, and Mohamad Yahiya were detained 2 to 5 years in the Philippines. See Picture  Click here


How then did the Release, and their Non-Extradition (deportation) to Burma?

Humanitarian Work can sometimes exist to build bridges, especially where there are political barriers to overcome in order to allow the actors, involved purely and simply more room for maneuver. For Humanitarian Work is often a balancing act between national interests and international political dependencies. Mr. Lehnert said: "Sometimes you hold the stick between freedom and death in his hand, and with that responsibility should be handled very sensitively and carefully.
The immigration authority requested in this particular case, then Mr. Lehnert, find a legal way to allow the release of the three Burman. Because otherwise, would have to be the detainees deported to a valid law, which would have meant that they were convicted in their home country for the death penalty or life imprisonment – On the Spurious Grounds - for unauthorized Escape from Burma.

After two unsuccessful applications, Mr. Lehnert was able to win the famous Bishop of the Wesleyan Church of the Philippines and the Law firm Romeo Dolleton in Laguna, that ensured the three Myanmars a guarantee. The Commissioner M.C. Libanan then allowed by the Executive Law, the release on humanitarian grounds.





The Story of Japanese Kazuya Fujii 

23. August 2009 - FAC Technical Writer


Mr. Kazuya Fujii  sat over 6 months in detention, because his wife and 2 children withdraw ed, his permanent Visa warranty from him. Reason of the arrest - Overstay - since nobody informed Mr.Fujii (Attorney or Immigration) what is to be done. Wife produces order 9226. Result - arrest. Himself is a bobofide member of the Rotay Club of Dagiangas, General Santos City, since the year 2000. As matter of fact , the Rotary Club of Dagiangas, in a generous display of support to him, has passed a
resolution denouncing the false accusation of his estrange wife. But nobody could help. Mr. Fujii Attorney said with great restraint, he's beyond help. Consequence - Immigration BOC to order Deportation of Mr. Kazuya Fujii.

Starting from this moment, was asked the FAC ( Alfred Lehnert ) for assistance.

Further verification reveals that the married relationships of respondent with his wife turned sour after he discovered his wife to have squandered their money, resources and property, and continue to squander whatever was left. With the collaboration of Alfred Lehnert it was decided that send a Appeal to the President. After consultation with the attorney from Mr. Fujii, it was decided that Appeal tighten back,  because up to Principle of Careful Decision Making, we must waiting one year. It is better to be accepted voluntarily the Deportation, in order to show respect opposite to Bureau of Immigration Philippines. Otherwise we obstruct a passage to be lifting the Blacklist. Lehnert further, what we aim at with this action is, makes possible that Mr. Fujii come back to the Philippines and his children + investment.
On 20. August 2009 , the BOI repeal lifting of Blacklist Order for Mr. Fujii.




Alfred Lehnert recommended as Ambassador

14 June 2009 by FAC Reporter

The Philippine Minister recommend Mr. Alfred Lehnert ( FAC ) to the European Union in Brüssel, as "Ambassador for Investment and Special Concerns between the 28 European Union States and the Republic of the Philippines.".





Ex-BI chief's bid to reduce bail in illegal-detention case opposed

10 March 2008 - By Rene Acosta, Reporter

THE government has opposed a motion filed by former Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo seeking the reduction of the P40,000 bail set by the Second Division of the Sandiganbayan in an arbitrary, detention case filed against her by the Office of the Ombudsman. Prosecutors Rodrigo Coquia and Annielyn Medes Cabelis asked the anti graft court to deny Domingo's motion for lack of basis. "Aside from being the former commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation, and former congresswoman of Pampanga, accused is currently the general manager and chief executive officer of the Public Reclamation Authority [formerly Public Estates Authority]. Considering the government positions held and currently occupied by the accused, she is financially capable to pay the P40,000 bail previously fixed by the Honorable Court," they said. In addition, Coquia and Cabelis said the amount of bail is recommended by law under Article 124 of the Revised Penal Code because the offense is punishable by reclusion temporal equivalent to a jail term of 12 to 20 years.
Domingo was accused, along with Immigration intelligence officers II Maynard Marinas and Arthur Solito III, and Mandaue City prison warden Elmer Napilot, of causing the illegal detention of Alfred Lehnert Jr., a German national residing in the Philippines for a period of one year and six months.

Prosecutors held that Lehnert was unlawfully arrested on September 27, 2002, in Mandaue City, Cebu while he was following up his papers at the local BID office.
The arrest was reportedly made based on a mission order signed by Domingo, but charges accusing Lehnert of being an "undesirable alien" were filed only three days after his lawyer filed a petition for habeas corpus. The Cebu regional trial court granted Lehnert's petition but the BID officers went up to the Court of Appeals and to the Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court's ruling.
Owing to the legal challenges, Lehnert's detention stretched on for 18 months until his release on March 25, 2004. "The amount of bail fixed by the Honorable Court is reasonable and proper, considering the length of the period of illegal detention the private complainant suffered on the basis of the Mission Order issued by the accused and the gravity of the penalty that may be imposed on them," the prosecution said.
The illegal detention case against Domingo and two of her former men was filed by the Ombudsman with the Sandiganbayan last February 26.

Quelle: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/03102008/nation06.html





GERMAN TV exposes RP cruelty to foreigners

Monday, August 15, 2005 - by BOO CHANCO

The Philippine StarTheir national election is set for next month. But the German people are undecided on whether they want a new way of addressing their problems or have more of the same muddling through approach. The International Herald Tribune talks of "a kind of head-heart divide tearing at the collective consciousness." I am more and more seeing a lot of us in them.
In their heads, an article in the IHT observed, the Germans know that the Red-Green coalition has failed abysmally to lower unemployment and restart the economy, so in their heads they are for Merkel. "They also know that reforms are necessary and they are for them, in theory, but reforms make them anxious, so they yearn for the devil they know, Schröder." The German dilemma fascinates me. It almost sounds like what haunts us here at home. And it is this fascination that made me explore the far end of Sky Cable's spectrum of cable channels and ended up with Deutsche Welle, the German channel. Deutsche Welle isn't quite the BBC but it is close to it. It is seen all over the world in over 30 languages.
Wednesday evening last week, I thought myself lucky to hear an announcement of an English language program about the Philippines. So I stayed on, wondering what I was about to see about my country from a German perspective.
The title sounded ominous enough, "Imprisoned in Paradise". As it turned out, it was about how Philippine immigration officials maltreated four Germans, keeping them imprisoned for up to three years in a pigsty of a detention facility, on what the program called trumped up charges.

I was deeply troubled, perhaps even devastated, by the program. I wondered to myself, is that my country they are talking about ? That sounds more like a horror story out of Mugabe's Zimbabwe, not in Ate Glo's Philippines....
I have heard and read a lot of bad articles and reports on the Philippines but this one was the worst I can remember, partly because I know the bureaucratic corruption it denounced was true and also because human suffering arising-out of injustice always arouses universal sympathy. Then too, as a journalist, I thought Deutsche Welle's reporters got a bit carried away, neglecting other perspectives necessary for basic fairness.
The feature was about the story of four German's imprisoned by our Immigration commission for a variety of charges ranging from alleged sexual harassment to overstaying their visas and working without a permit, Filipinos, the narrator said, quoting one of the Germans, think of foreigners as piggy banks to be exploited and blackmailed for cash, or words to that effect I thought Filipinos are a hospitable and friendly people. Has the deterioration of our national character gone this far ? Any decent person viewing the report would sympathize with the plight of the imprisoned Germans. Whatever violations of our laws they are accused of, throwing them in the filthy immigration jail in Camp Bagong Diwa for as long as three years, as in the case of a German husband and wife, is punishment that is grossly over and above what is called for.





The report however, noted a saving grace for our government. One of these Germans was actually freed by our Supreme Court who found his incarceration unjust and illegal. At least our judicial system works. But even here, it came too late to save his marriage to a Filipina who has run away to Europe with their daughter while he was in jail. The report was also rather harsh to the German Embassy, whose officials were accused of not caring enough to lend a hand to their troubled nationals. Unfortunately, the report did not get side of the Embassy, as any world class journalistic enterprise should have.
But in fairness to the Deutsche Welle report, it credits incumbent Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez of trying to clean up the Augean stables left by his predecessors. The report accused a previous Commissioner of becoming a very rich person by institutionalizing a racket that victimizes foreigners for real and imagined violations of immigration laws.

I know that government office is dirty but still, that accusation was shocking to me. I know that commissioner from our college days. I can't imagine her turning into the devil incarnate that the report said she has become. I expected Deutsche Welle, a world class television organization, to have required the report's producer to produce proof and to get her side. None of those were incorporated in the report. I dread to imagine the horrible image of the Filipino painted to a wide international audience by this special television report. A German or any other non Filipino national watching the report abroad must think we are uncivilized brutes, no better than wild animals fighting for survival by victimizing innocent foreigners.

Worse, how can a country that sends over 8 million of its nationals abroad, treat foreigners this way ? Indeed, how can we now complain about our OFWs being maltreated abroad when we ourselves treat foreigners in our country with such cruelty ?
I gutless treating foreigners as fair garner for extortion and cruelty is possible because they are not voters our political leaders, including our national leadership, feel an obligation to look after. Indeed, many in our lawentorcement units see them as piggy banks to hassle, and profit from !


That attitude is of course, very unchristian. The Bible teaches us to be particularly considerate of foreigners, because as our Lord reminded the Israelites, they were foreigners too in Egypt. How dare we call ourselves the only Christian country in Asia and allow this travesty to happen.
Forget attracting tourists here if that image of the Filipinos sticks. No foreigner would feel safe. Potential foreign visitors would think that anyone silly enough to come here risks having a nightmare of an experience in a Mugabe like country. As the German television report suggested, our country should have been a paradise, were it not for some of the people who inhabit it.
The sipadan and Dos Palmas hostage taking sagas, still fresh in the minds of the international community, were bad enough but not as despicable as state sanctioned cruelty. Terrorism will not scare tourists away because the problem is not exclusive to us. But cruelty to foreigners, for whatever reason, even legal reasons, presents us in the worse possible light to the world.
Ate Glo should know that since her picture is prominently displayed in the offices featured in the report, the stink reflects on her person too.

Ate Glo should instruct the Justice department and the Immigration Commission to clean up their treatment of foreigners right away. Those with minor violations like overstaying their visas( after all, Pinoys do this with impunity abroad ) shouldn't be treated like criminals and made to languish in filthy jails. Immediate deportation is more acceptable. But above all, Commissioner Fernandez should be given full support in cleaning out his office of mission audit our treatment of foreign prisoners. I think the Ombudsman should request a copy of the Deutsche Welle report and do something about it. It was shown to a world audience and we have an obligation to ourselves and to our children to clean up the Filipino,s image in the family of nations.
Source: Boo Chanco. His E-Mail address is bchanco@gmail.com


To have a card up one's sleeve - F.A.C.
  
15. January 2010 - FAC Technical Writer

I

t is always good to have "ASS" in the sleeve. This experience made also the 73 year old German Alfreds H. Becker, by it its "ASS" - the F.A.C out-played. Thus on 13 January 2010 in presence of German Media, its immigration judgement was handed over to him. With this judgement, its Deportation from the Philippines was waived. Its Ex-wife had indicated him, who was explained in the meantime now disturbed by the Philippine court as mentally.











European Media publish the Phil. Life Story of F.A.C. Chaiman Alfred Lehnert  

03. Dezember 2009 - FAC Technical Writer

 The most famous german magazine publish as Cover Story, Alfred Lehnert work for Justice and Freedom shortly. His success for humanitarian work set a new Milestone in Philippine History to attract with more security - more Foreign Retirees and Investors to the Philippines. He assisted 60 Foreign Retirees or Investors to be released from Jail or avoided their Deportation in Coordination with the Immigration Secretary. the Philippine Retirement Authority and other Departments in executive Law. FAC Chairman was joint drafter of the new Immigration Law with the remarkable reorganizing at the Philippine Immigration under the Leadership of Secretary M.C. Libanan where President G.M. Arroyo and Archbishop Cardinal Vidal blessed and awarded Immigration Chief M.C. Libanan and FAC Chairman A. Lehnert. This publishing in the most famous magazine is the crown of their joint work for national interest and the fruits if historic changes. After our FAC Chairman has been twice nominated for the special Nobel Peace Prize for Justice.  



 

Final Justice for Foreign Investor's

T

he case of "George N." a European Citizen. George came 5 years ago to the Philippines as multi million Investor, received the highest Visa of the Country, due his substantial Investment, his social engagement  supported hospital and his heart for children's welfare. George build for his family a house near the beach to enjoy the warmth of his extended family in his golden age. His broad ed mind and life style was known as well he gave an helping hand to other foreign investors for their projects, but his fairytale took a bizarre turn and headed hell instead. Meanwhile he visit one of his friends, he helped a valid amount to ask the timely return. He was arrested by police - jailed in City-Jail - charged without Bail-Bond in a case by law with life time in prison. Thru a friend he contacted the Foreign Assistance Center and the Chairman visited George in prison. After review and fact-finding of his case, it can be stated that George was set-up by tampered evidences - he was arrested without warrant and due legal process was denied. He learned, that some unscrupulous Lawyers extorted and extracted him for millions he pay to them in his scary and deadly situation. At this moment F.A.C. communicated already with European Media and Embassies re his case of Injustice and F.A.C. found legals way's that George case might be soonest dismissed and he is released from City-Jail. The Justice System of the Philippines works - but his hardship has burn a remarkable wound to his soul - 7 month horrible prison - as an innocent Investor his mistake. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time to wrong friends. That he was used by criminal friends as a person to set him up for their crimes.
Re'sume' -  avoid to show money be critical to those real friends and have always the right legal assistance to avoid millions of losses or like in his case - your in-tire freedom. To avoid those acts of Injustice, the Foreign Assistance Center Chairman proposed already to the Hon. Supreme Court Chief  Justice Renato Puno, to create a special Court only to foreigners to evaluate the evidence first by a board of Judges - before it reach the table of the presiding Judge - because the Court can release the accused only after the trial and acquittal, sometime years of trial to avoid this human suffer as innocent is national interests to attract with more Security - more Foreign Investor's and Retirees to our Country and guard those with strictly Presumption of Innocence and as foreign guest with speedy trial to follow our honorable Supreme Court Ruling in 2004.

To proceed cases of foreigners fairly on their circumstances and not deport or charge them blindly - since national or higher Interests are involved as order from the Supreme Court in prerogative to our Country.




PR Immigration gang may be the biggest crime syndicate in Asia 

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - by Delon Porcalla

The Philippine Star A group at the immigration bureau involved in illegal activities may turn out to be the "biggest and most organized crime syndicate" in Asia whose funds may "dwarf (that) of any terrorist group or drug cartel in the region," a lawmaker revealed yesterday.
"The most notorious and grossly appalling act of this syndicate is setting free terrorists, members or high-ranking bosses of international drug organizations and criminals who committed crimes against our people," Rep. Robert"Ace" Barbers said yesterday.
The administration congressman earlier exposed what he said was the unlawful deportation in May 2005 of suspected terrorist Vo Van Duc, an American of Vietnamese descent, and Chinese Shang Du, who was facing charges of kidnapping for ransom, another non-bailable offense. Barbers vowed to unravel in the next few days the corrupt activities of immigration agents he accused of regularly extorting money from illegal aliens and facilitating fake visas for a "mind-boggling fee."
I will expose in the eves of the public and the world the biggest and most organized crime syndicate operating right under our noses, inside the Bureau of Immigration (BI)," he said in a statement.

Barbers said the funds earned by this syndicate on an annual basis and the total take from their operations for 15 years could dwarf the funds of any other terrorist group or drug cartel in the region. The Lakas stalwart disclosed that records he obtained from BI insiders even indicate an encroachment of the country's neighbors, as these scalawags operate " even outside of the country's borders."

"Fake entry visas are sold at a staggering amount of P 500.000 each to willing foreigners who want to come here for good or engage in illegal businesses. Tens of thousands of foreigners enter the country yearly this way," Barbers said.
From this alone, he said one could just imagine the amount involved. "For a mere 1.000 persons, that becomes P 500 million. This does not include the periodic shakedowns by agents when they are already in the country. This costs as much as P 250.000 each." This regular entry of very young foreigners in the pretext of being seamen who are going to board their fishing vessels here in South Harbor."
"There are thousands of them. While there are orders for their entry, there are none for their exists. Where are they now ? Perhaps the merchants in Divisoria, Binondo and Baclaran who cannot speak a single Tagalog word will give you a clue," Barbers hinted. These illegal aliens who regularly shell out money to corrupt immigration personnel "are the untouchables who cannot be apprehended."
Apart from milking the foreigners dry, 'Barbers disclosed that aliens have been "languishing" either in the BI detention cell or in Bicutan, only because they not coughed up money despite the issuance at deportation orders.





PINOY, the second time around

Sunday, July 29, 2007 - by Eden E. Estopace

WHAT IS THE COST OF FREEDOM ?

For Alfred Lehnert Jr., a German national who has been living in the Philippines for almost 14 years now, freedom has a steep price tag - almost a million dollars in life savings, three houses in Cebu and a family.

Short of losing even the shirt on his back, Lehnert lost almost everything he held precious, most especially his only daughter Nikki, now 11 years old and living with her mother in another country. Lehnert, a civil engineer from Germany, first came to the Philippines in 1993 with his wife to settle in Cebu City, in part because of doctors' advice for him to live in a tropical country.
As with many foreigners who chose to settle here with their Filipina wives, Lehnert says he was "welcomed with great hospitality." They settled in Cebu, had a daughter, built houses and had a life surrounded by the warmth of an extended family. "My daughter learned Bisaya and was happy with all the attention and love for children in a country, which is hard to find in Europe," Lehnert says in an EL Shaddai prayer meeting, where he was asked to share his life story. " I come to this country ...... with all my love and hope for my new homeland," he says, adding during the interview with STARWEEK, that he also brought with him other foreign investors who were convinced that investing in the Philippines is a good business proposition. But the fairytale took a bizarre turn and headed for hell instead.

On Sept. 27, 2002, while following up papers for his visa, Lehnert was arrested in Mandaue City by virtue of a mission order from the Bureau of Immigration to verify his immigration status and activities in the Philippines. The "verification process" lasted 17 months, during which time Lehnert languished in jail, was divorced by his wife, and lost all his property in the Philippines, including custody of his daughter.
Lehnert says he was denied bail, his case was never heard in court, and worse, the cases and complaints lodged against him piled up, reducing further his chances for release. He recounts that a highly organized criminal group had tried to extort money from him in exchange for his liberty. But he fought back and used all legal means to free himself from what he says was "arbitrary detention based on fabricated charges."

No foreigner must be detained for months or years on grounds of minor administrative charges, he stresses. If they violated the laws of the country, they must be deported - as in most countries - but not detained. The right bo bail while the charges are being heard in court is also a basic human right that should be accorded to foreigners, he says. And everybody must have a day in court to rebut the charges. "How can a foreigner be arrested and detained indefinitely without due legal process granted to the accused ?" Lehnert asks. On Feb. 26, 2004, the Supreme Court ordered Lehnert's release from arbitrary detention after finding that he was "illegally arrested and detained without warrant, without substantial proof and without due process." He was released in April 2004, one of the few foreigners who was ever released by the hight court in 60 years.

Staying for good

With no money, no family and no relatives here, Lehnert made a most surprising decision. He chose to stay in the Philippines for good. "Most foreigners released from detention leave the country because they are afraid of being rearrested," he says. But in his case, what more did he have to lose ? So he decided to stay and spend the rest of his life helping other foreign nationals in detention.
"I never lost my faith in God and the belief in myself to escape from a hopeless situation," he says. In fact, my way was blessed with so much success to give more hope to others with less chances.

Notwithstanding the months he spent in a detention facility with 200 other detainees, fed only twice a day with what he says was food with "absolutely no nutritional content or value," water, no beds or utensils and hostile armed guards, Lehnert chose to look at the bright side of things.
During his hight-profile legal battle and advocacy, he earned the support of government officials, high-ranking members of the Catholic hierarchy, the diplomatic community and friends he said he could never have met if his life had not turned for the worse, including then Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes, whom he met at a briefing for the repeal of Executive Order 287. At one time, no less than Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal had allowed him to speak on his prison experience. While in detention and after his release, Lehnert says he studied the Philippine immigration law with the help of San Carlos University Professor Alex Monteclar to lend a helping hand to foreigners in detention either through appeals for humanitarian grounds or simple evaluation of the law.
One case he helped resolve was that of a 68-year-old professor from Papua New Guinea who was very sick and had been detained in the country for five years. After his release from detention, he was sent home to Port Moresby though the help of donations. "A little help could go a long way," he says, adding that there are around 160 foreigners detained at the detention facilities of Bureau of Immigration. This does not include yet the foreigners convicted by legal courts and detained at the new Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa. His focus though is primarily foreigners detained for minor administrative violations.

After a year of freedom, and with no compensation received for his illegal detention, Lehnert's life story was made into a documentary and showed on German television. Shortly after, he was appointed as a consultant to the European Parliament to give advice on the plight of foreigners living in the Philippines, how the immigration law is implemented and what government should do to help their citizens.
Recognizing his work in the country and because of his knowledge and deep understanding of Philippine immigration law, Lehnert was also invited by the Philippine Congress in December 2006 to be part of a technical working group that will craft a new immigration act that aims to attract more investors to the county. Sadly, he says, the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 that is still in use today is outmoded and needs urgent revisions.

A new Chapter


By embracing a new life mission, Lehnert is now fully immersed in his advocacy for more justice and tolerance for foreigners living in the country. " My heart has no hate for our people, they work hard for their families," he says, referring to Filipinos in general, whom he now considers his own people.
Fortunately, Alfred Lehnert's story does have a happy ending. As a fitting closure to heal the deep wounds of the past, Lehnert met a woman he later married, with whom he hopes to rebuild his life and start another family, this time hopefully to live happily ever after.
During his wedding last month, Sec. Reyes stood as one of the sponsors, along with the couple's staunchest supporters. Isn't he afraid of marrying another Filipina after the bitter separation from his first wife ? " Of course not," he says. No two people are the same and he has only good words for his new bride, who is a graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy ( PNPA ) and was even awarded a scholarship to the Netherlands.
He calls her his "GENERAL", while she refers to him as her "ANGEL of JUSTICE."






The Sunday magazine of the Philippine STAR

29. July 2007  The Philippine Star
Notwithstanding the months he spent in a detention facility with 200 other detainees, fed only twice a day with what he says was food with " absolutely no nutritional content or value," no safe drinking water, no beds or utensils and hostile armed guards, Lehnert chose to look at the bright side of things.
During his high-profile legal battle and advocacy, he earned the support of government officials, high-ranking members of the Catholic hierarchy, the diplomatic community and friends he said he could never have met if his life had not turned for the worse, including then Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes, whom he met at a briefing for the repeal of Executive Order 287. At one time, no less than Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal had allowed him to speak on his prison experience.
While in detention and after his release, Lehnert says he studied the Philippine immigration law with the help of San Carlos University Professor Alex Monteclar " to lend a helping hand to foreigners in detention either through appeals for humanitarian grounds or simple evaluation of the law."
One case he helped resolve was that of a 68-year-old professor from Papua New Guinea who was very sick and had been detained in the country for five years. After his release from detention, he was sent home to Port Moresby through the help of donations.

" A little help could go a long way," he says, adding that there are around 160 foreigners detained at the detention facilities of the Bureau of Immigration. This does not include yet the foreigners convicted by legal courts and detained at the new Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa. His focus though is primarily foreigners detained for minor administrative violations.

After a year of freedom, and with no compensation received for his illegal detention, Lehnert's life story was made into a documentary and showed on German television. Shortly after, he was appointed as a consultant to the European Parliament to give advice on the plight of foreigners living in the Philippines, how the immigration law is implemented and what governments should do to help their citizens. Recognizing his work in the country and because of his knowledge and deep understanding of Philippine immigration law, Lehnert was also invited by the Philippine Congress in December 2006 to be part of a technical working group that will craft a new immigration act that aims to attract more investors to the country.
Sadly, he says, the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 that is still in use today is outmoded and needs urgent revisions.

A new chapter

By embracing a new life mission, Lehnert is now fully immersed in his advocacy for more justice and tolerance for foreigners living in the country "My heart has no hate for our people, they work hard for their families," he says, referring to Filipinos in general, whom he now considers his own people. Fortunately, Alfred Lehnert's story does have a happy ending. As a fitting closure to heal the deep wounds of the past, Lehnert met a woman he later married, with whom he hopes to rebuild his life and start another family, this time hopefully to live happily ever after.

During his wedding last month, Sec. Reyes stood as one of the sponsors, along with the couple's staunchest supporters. Isn't he afraid of marrying another Filipina after the bitter separation from his first wife ? "Of course not," he says. No two people are the same and ne has only good words for his new bride, who is a graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy ( PNPA ) and was even awarded a schotarship to the Netherlands. He calls her his"general", while she refers to him as her "angel of justice."