‘Pastillas’ scheme whistleblower Chiong now in WPP custody — Guevarra

The immigration officer who identified officials and personnel involved in an alleged airport bribery scheme involving Chinese nationals is now in the custody of the Witness Protection Program (WPP), Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Friday.

Allison Chiong testified at a Senate hearing on the "pastillas" scheme, in which Chinese casino high-rollers and offshore gaming operation workers allegedly skip the usual immigration process for a fee.

"We took him in upon the request of Sen. [Risa] Hontiveros and the Senate President [Vicente Sotto III]  due to security concerns," Guevarra said in a message to reporters.

"He will be evaluated thoroughly by the WPP before he could be considered for full coverage," the Justice chief said.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) earlier placed on floating status 19 personnel mentioned in the Senate hearing, following a directive by President Rodrigo Duterte to relieve from their posts the persons allegedly involved in the modus.

The bureau said it is investigating the scheme.

Weeks before the "pastillas" scheme was revealed, Guevarra had ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the involvement of immigration personnel in "escorting" activities.

At the Senate hearing, Chiong alleged that immigration officers started offering VIP services -- in exchange for P2,000 for each high-roller -- when the Department of Justice removed their overtime pay in 2012.

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 NBI started investigating and was replaced with a system where immigration officers brought each Chinese national to a holding area of the travel control and enforcement unit, where the name would be checked with a "master list."

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

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

Despite the controversy, President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday still vouched for the integrity of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente.

But on Friday, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Morente is not yet off the hook.

Panelo told reporters that the Cabinet will dicuss Morente’s performance in the next meeting.

Asked if Morente would still face possible sanctions should he be implicated in the bribery controversy, Panelo said, “Yes.”

“Everyone is not off the hook. He will be assessed [in regard to his performance],” Panelo said.  — RSJ, GMA News