19 immigration personnel relieved of duty over ‘pastillas’ scheme

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is "immediately relieving" 19 personnel allegedly linked to a supposed scheme where Chinese nationals are escorted through the immigration process in exchange for a fee.

The bureau did so in compliance with an order by President Rodrigo Duterte, BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said Thursday.

Sandoval said the 19 were the personnel mentioned during a Senate hearing on the "pastillas" scheme, a modus operandi which all but 10% of immigration officers are involved in, according to a whistleblower.

Allison Chiong, Immigration Officer 1, identified the officials whom he said were part of the scheme, which allegedly allows Chinese casino high-rollers and offshore gaming workers to enter the Philippines without going through the usual immigration process.

"We are not taking this lightly," Sandoval said.

"The exposé by Immigration Officer Alex Chiong is deeply alarming, and we will ensure that we will take every measure to destroy this system of corruption, and impose the harshest penalties to erring personnel.  Corruption has no place in the Bureau," she said.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente has earlier relieved the terminal heads at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the chief of the travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) as the bureau investigates the scheme.

In his Senate testimony, Chiong said immigration officers started offering VIP services started when the Department of Justice removed their overtime pay in 2012.

"This VIP service involved immigration officers accepting P2,000 for each high rollers in exchange for the latter’s convenient and seamless immigration,” Chiong said.

He claimed that immigration officers received through Viber, a messaging app, a list of names of Chinese nationals who were to be allowed entry "without question or investigation."

He said the Viber group was deleted when the National Bureau of Investigation probed the BI's airport operations. In its place, "immigration officers at the counter were asked to bring each Chinese national to the holding area of TCEU and a member of the TCEU would then check the name with the master list,” he said.

If the name is on the list, the Chinese national would be allowed entry without further screening or profiling, he said.

Senator Risa Hontiveros has earlier said around P1 billion may have already been disbursed as kickbacks to corrupt officials as a result of the scheme. — BM, GMA News