| In last night's news, we brought you excerpts of the sworn testimony from Gordon Wade, the Senior Immigration Officer who once was in charge of the Nationality Section of the Immigration Department. It was the very first time he had given any public comment, and possibly the first time that he was even filmed by the media, since his name started getting called back in September and October of 2013, when the Elvin Penner/Citizen Kim passport scandal first broke.
We showed you how he took questions from the Senate Select Committee on the Won Hong Kim scandal, and described the encounters with the UDP ministers who were in and out of Immigration Department pressing influence. He also confirmed that there was a rush before the 2012 General Elections in which 2110 applicants got nationality.
Well, one other part of yesterday's hearing which we didn't get to show you was Wade's testimony, which points fingers away from himself and to the front-line Immigration Officers below him, for the fraud and forgery which allowed for visitors to illegally acquire Belizean Nationality.
Now, we've studied the testimony of all the witnesses to recognize that a pattern is starting to form. Everyone is agreeing to the Senate that wrongs were committed at the Department, and that the system was breached, but each witness has passed on blame to someone or somewhere else.
Yesterday, the Senate put it directly to Gordon Wade that his former boss, Ruth Meighan, pointed fingers in his direction for the fraudulently issued nationalities. Here's how he explained why he wasn't responsible:
Hon. Aldo Salazar, Chairman - Senate Select Committee
"The vetting process placed a reliance solely on the authenticity, or you were relying on the authenticity of what you were seeing in those passports?"
Gordon Wade - Former OIC, Nationality Section
"As the final vetter, I don't get to see a passport."
Hon. Aldo Salazar
"What do you get to see?"
Gordon Wade
"I get to see a file. I file that has certified documents in there and these files that comes to me are from the entire country. It's not just from Belmopan. Application are submitted in each districts, they are sent to Belmopan at the headquarters where at the registry unit they would be turned into a file and what comes to my desk finally is a file."
Hon. Aldo Salazar
"Okay, so you get a file which will have copies of said the entire passport which will show or will attempt to show that the person, let's say in the case of somebody who is here for 5 years, which I found most of the infractions were in relation to saying that people were here for 5 years when they were not."
"In case of somebody who was here for 5 years or who allege that they were here for 5 years. You would have gotten a file with a copy of passport in it certified as a true copy by who?"
Gordon Wade
"As a true copy by the officer that accepted the application whether it be in Belmopan or as I said in the districts stations."
Hon. Aldo Salazar
"So the officer that accepted the application would verify the authenticity of the passport?"
Gordon Wade
"That's the job of the acceptance clerk."
Hon. Aldo Salazar
"So it's not that somebody would come with copies already?"
Gordon Wade
"No. When you bring in your application, you bring the original document along with copies and the accepting officers should compare the copies presented against the original and then certify that they are true copies."
Hon. Aldo Salazar
"So you would rely on the accepting officer saying that I saw the passport and photo copy it and saying that's this is a true copy of it."
Gordon Wade
"Yes sir."
Hon. Aldo Salazar
"And that was it, nothing additional?"
Gordon Wade
"I don't understand, additional...?"
Hon. Aldo Salazar
"Meaning all you were looking for was the copies in front of you and looking to see that the person met the relevant either time period or that it was married. If it was married you would ask for married certificate, you would want to see that the husband or wife is Belizean etc."
"So you were relying only on those documents and somebody is telling you that these documents are true?"
Gordon Wade
"It's a file."
Hon. Aldo Salazar
"I mean there was no independent investigation on your part?"
Gordon Wade
"No sir."
Hon. Aldo Salazar
"You went by the word of whoever took that application from that applicant that those were correct."
Gordon Wade
"Yes sir. The suggestion you made if the department was networked, if we had a closer working relationship with the Visa, the passport and the nationality section, those things could have been avoided. Because like I mentioned, when a file reaches my desk, this file has been accepted, it has been prepared, the applicant has been interviewed, it has been pre-vetted before it comes to me."
"So when it comes to me, having been through all those processes, it's not usual for me to start the process all over again and start to verify everything that's in there. So that is where I would see a breakdown where that can be strengthen - that policy there."
Hon. Eamon Courtenay, PUP Senator
"To paraphrase what Miss Marin was saying was a culture of irregularity. Are you aware of that?"
Gordon Wade
"Like I mentioned the law was just saying 5 (years) you need to be in Belize ordinarily, their interpretation was what allowed that file to proceed. So that is what I view as the culture. I don't know if she meant irregularity."
Hon. Eamon Courtenay, PUP Senator
"Alright. And former director Ruth Meighan, you heard her testimony?"
Gordon Wade
"Again, just like former director Marin too..."
Hon. Eamon Courtenay, PUP Senator
"I want to paraphrase my assessment of a part of her evidence so that you can comment on it. I got the impression from her very distinctly that as far as she was concern there were persons who were below her in the department who were responsible for vetting and preparing files and for them to be sent to her. The impression I got, let me be frank, that she was blaming the people below her."
Gordon Wade
"Well from hearing what she was saying, she said that she took it for granted that files that came up to her were in order."
Hon. Eamon Courtenay, PUP Senator
"Alright. And the question I have for you now is from your perspective, a head of the department, you have gone through and you are sending up to her. Was it your understanding or belief that she would do any verification?"
Gordon Wade
"Like I said, I would highlight the condition of the file. It's up to her discretion. I would never vet a file and mentioned that it qualified or it met the requirements when it didn't. So it was my obligation to mention that this person is applying, hasn't been able to show 5 legal years, but has demonstrated what they considered ordinary resident in Belize and like I said the file would mentioned it is recommended or requested by such a person and is forwarded for your recommendation."
When the Senate Hearings continue next week Wednesday, the Senate will call Candelaria Saldivar-Morter, Theresita Castellanos, and Edgar Cano. Wade will be called back to testify on the follow Wednesday, February 22.
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