'Pastillas' modus allows seamless entry of Chinese to Philippines —Hontiveros

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday bared the alleged "pastillas" modus operandi within the Bureau of Immigration (BI) that allows the entry of Chinese nationals to the country in exchange for P10,000 each.

Hontiveros, chairman of the women, children, family relations, and gender equality committee, showed a video of an immigration officer escorting Chinese nationals to BI’s inner office, seemingly validating the Chinese nationals’ identities against a list with a supervisor.

“Bakit parang may VIP escort itong mga Chinese nationals papasok ng bansa? ‘Wag na ‘wag niyong lolokohin ang taumbayan. Hindi standard procedure ‘yan,” she said during the Senate hearing on the link of the boom of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) to prostitution and trafficking in the country.

She said the materials were sourced from an informant within the BI itself. The video was taken two weeks ago, she said.

Hontiveros also exposed the cash distribution system known as "pastillas."

"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: may sobre parang legit na pasuweldo, may bonus pag perfect attendance, at may pa-lunch pa mula sa mga Chinese," she said.

Immigration officials present at the hearing said they were not aware of the "pastillas" modus — a statement that did not sit well with Hontiveros.

“Dalawa lang ito: nagmamaang-maangan kayo pero alam n’yo ang pangyayari o talagang ignorante kayo," she said. "Either you are complacent or you are negligent."

Hontiveros said a P10,000 service fee per Chinese national entering the country is being paid. Of the amount, only P2,000 trickles down to airport immigration.

“Nasaan na yung P8,000? Ayon sa aming informant, distributed na, bago pa man makarating sa airport: sa Chinese tour operator, sa ka-kontratang local tour operator, at sa sindikatong magda-downstream sa airport,” she said.

She said around a billion pesos may have already been disbursed as kickbacks to corrupt officials.

“Somebody sold our country’s borders for Chinese money,” Hontiveros said.

“Kung sasabihin nating 1 million ang pumapasok gamit ang ‘pastillas’ system, P1  billion na ang nabayad na kickbak,” she added.

In the last hearing, BI revealed that 1.8 million Chinese nationals have entered the country in recent years.

“The lion’s share goes to the bosses,” Hontiveros  said, adding, “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.

She said the operation would not be that systematic without the involvement of high ranking government officials.

“Hindi magiging ganito ka-systematic ang operasyon sa loob ng Bureau of Immigration kung walang padrino ang mga ito. Hindi magiging ganito kagarapal ang mga iligal na POGO operations kung walang protektor at kumikita ng milyon-milyon,” she said.

“Kailangan natin matunton kung sino ang pinaka-pinuno nitong scam na ito. Sabi nila maraming dalang investments itong POGO. Pero imbes na investment ang dala nitong POGO, bakit parang naging invasion?” —KBK, GMA News