The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper
Immigration personnel in bribery scandal relieved!
PRESIDENT DUTERTE relieved all officials and employees of the Bureau of Immigration involved in a bribery scheme that allowed the entry and exit of Chinese nationals working for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGO.
Duterte’s action came after Senator Risa Hontiveros exposed the so-called “pastillas” modus within the Bureau of Immigration where Chinese nationals are allowed seamless entry into the country for a “service fee” of at least P10, 000.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the current situation in the Bureau of Immigration, as well as how it is being run by Commissioner Jaime Morente, will be taken up in the next Cabinet meeting.
“The President considers this anomaly, which some define as the “pastillas scheme,” as a grave form of corruption which cannot be countenanced by the government. As we have repeatedly stressed, there are no sacred cows in this Administration. Any official or employee who commits any wrong in the performance of their respective duties shall be meted out with the punishment that they deserve and in accordance with our penal laws,” Panelo said.
It was unclear why Morente failed to stop the bribery scandal, but he vowed to get to the bottom of the “pastillas” scheme.
“I am deeply alarmed hearing reports from the good Senator Risa Hontiveros that this escorting modus is still persistent in our airports. I have ordered a full-blown investigation to know if such corrupt practices still exist, and to find out who is possibly part of this syndicate to file both administrative and criminal cases against them,” he said.
Morente said they would ask Hontiveros for more information into the bribery scandal.
“We will immediately coordinate with the office of Senator Hontiveros to request more information regarding the issue,” he said. Modus During a recent House committee hearing investigating the link of the boom of POGO to prostitution and trafficking in the country, Hontiveros showed a video clip of an immigration officer escorting Chinese nationals to a Bureau of Immigration office, seemingly validating with a supervisor the foreigners’ identity against a list.
“Bakit parang may VIP escort itong mga Chinese nationals papasok ng bansa? Huwag na huwag ninyong lolokohin ang taumbayan. Hindi standard procedure yan,” Hontiveros said, who also showed screenshots of Viber groups containing names, flight details and photos of Chinese nationals that came from an informant at the Bureau of Immigration.
She said the bribery distributions were called “pastillas” because the money was rolled in a white bond paper that looked similar to the milky pastry. “Tinanong ko bakit pastillas ang tawag. Dati daw kasi, wala pang mga sobre so nilalagay sa bond paper at niro-rolyo na parang pastillas. Ngayon, mas professional na at may sobre parang legit na pa-suweldo, may bonus kapag perfect attendance, at may pa-lunch pa mula sa mga Chinese,” Hontiveros explained.
“Ayon sa aming informant, mas lumakas ang ganitong modus dahil sa libu-libong mga POGO workers na dumarating sa bansa araw-araw,” she said, adding, the P10,000 bribe of each Chinese national were divided among several people - Chinese tour operator, the local tour operator, and syndicates and only P2, 000 to airport immigration.
Hontiveros said around P1 billion in bribery money may have already been disbursed as kickbacks to corrupt officials. “Somebody sold our country’s borders for Chinese money. Kung sasabihin nating 1 million ang pumapasok gamit ang pastillas system, one billion pesos na ang nabayad na kickback,” she said, but immigration records showed that 1.8 million Chinese nationals have entered the country in recent years.
“The lion’s share goes to the bosses. Somebody rigged the system, centralized the operations, and made this into a billion-peso enterprise. Pinapapasok ang mga Chinese nationals kapalit ng pera, effectively making us borderless,” she said, vowing to further investigate the scandal and weed out corrupt officials.
“Hindi magiging ganito ka-systematic ang operasyon sa loob ng Bureau of Immigration kung walang padrino ang mga ito. Hindi magiging ganito ka-garapal ang mga ilegal na POGO operations kung walang protektor at kumikita ng milyon-milyon piso. Kailangan natin matunton kung sino ang pinaka-pinuno nitong scam na ito. Sabi nila maraming dalang investments itong mga POGO. Pero imbes na investment ang dala nitong POGO, bakit parang naging invasion?” Hontiveros asked.
Duterte has allowed the unabated operations of POGO despite Beijing’s appeal to ban it in the Philippines because online gambling is a most “dangerous tumor” in modern society.
POGO employs over 130,000 Chinese nationals, but the Bureau of Internal Revenue only collected about P200 million in taxes from foreign workers and the country is losing at least P24 billion each year from unpaid taxes. (Mindanao Examiner)