Tonight, UDP Cayo Northeast Representative Elvin Penner remains under intense scrutiny and public pressure. The effort to subject him to a recall vote is one thing - while the revelations about his conduct as minister of state keep coming.
Tonight his accuser is PUP politician Arthur Saldivar. Saldivar claims to have 150 suspect nationality documents which Penner signed. Now, Saldivar, who is known to be a little dramatic says these documents were about to be disposed of a by a third party when he acquired them. Today he came to the media with only one, a nationality certificate for a 37 year old man, born in China, living in the Las Flores area of Belmopan. His name is Bo-Jie Shan his certificate was issued in May of 2013, but the receipt for his application wasn't issued by Immigration Officer Ady Pacheco until July of 2013.
Saldivar pounced on that glaring discrepancy in an interview with the media today at the KREMANDALA Compound:..
Arthur Saldivar
"150 files signed by Elvin Penner is within the public prevue. We have those and we will release them. In relation to this particular Bo-Jie Shau; his nationality certificate was signed by Penner on the 22nd May, 2013, but his application was not received by the department until the 10th July, 2013."
Jules Vasquez
"This is one, do you have others?"
Arthur Saldivar
"Yes I have others."
Jules Vasquez
"So why..."
Arthur Saldivar
"Wait man, you can't be greedy."
Jules Vasquez
"Either you are interested in public disclosure or you are running a game."
Arthur Saldivar
"I am not so much in public disclosure. Public disclosure is a necessity at this time to ensure that the ends is met, and the ends is a comprehensive investigation of the Immigration Department."
"It is the investigation of wrong that is my interest. Not disclosure, not publicity."
Jules Vasquez
"Are there consistent inconsistencies?"
Arthur Saldivar
"Yes, there are consistent inconsistencies and there is the greatest consistency the signature of Elvin Penner who has proven to be a very untrustworthy unreliable public servant."
Jules Vasquez
"Did he sign all 150?"
Arthur Saldivar
"Every one of them."
Jules Vasquez
"Are they all for Asians or Middle-Eastern or are they Mexicans; what?"
Arthur Saldivar
"Asians, Middle-Eastern, a Guatemalan governor and Pakistanis - the Asian sub-continent Pakistan."
Jules Vasquez
"And all of them have inconsistency?"
Arthur Saldivar
"Every one of them. I will be releasing, myself or my associates will be releasing each day until the department is closed down, copies of which we have originals of - each day."
"We are basically urging the Commissioner of Police who has received one of these documents by fax to do what is necessary now and act. Close down the Nationality and Passport Section of the Immigration Department - treat it as a crime scene. Go systematically all the files at Immigration to determine how many of these documents exists, who sign them and under what circumstances they were signed."
"The Police Department have within its prevue the ability to check immediately at the special branch because to get a Nationality certificate, one first have to submit a police record for vetting at the special branch."
We could not get any comment from the Immigration Department. We do know that their internal investigation is underway - and that is scheduled for completion on Wednesday October the ninth. That's also when the suspensions for the three officers form the nationality section will be finished. They were suspended on September 30th for producing a passport without an original picture and with no fingerprint back-up in the system.
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