Ex-DOJ chief Aguirre stands by ex-immigration official tagged in 'pastillas scam'

Former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Tuesday said he was standing by erstwhile immigration official Marc Red Mariñas, who has been accused of leading the "pastillas scam."

It was Aguirre who appointed Mariñas as Port Operations Division (POD) chief of the Bureau of Immigration (BI). The former secretary said Mariñas was "very qualified" for the position and that he trusted him.

"Never in my whole life will I regret the appointment of Mr. Red Mariñas. I stand by him," the former secretary said at a Senate hearing.

An immigration officer has tagged Mariñas as the leader of the "pastillas group," which allegedly operated a scheme that allowed Chinese casino high-rollers and offshore gaming operation workers to enter the country without going through the immigration process for a fee.

Mariñas, who resigned from the BI last year to run for Muntinlupa mayor, has previously denied involvement in the scheme.

Aguirre said that Mariñas is respected by BI employees and that his office ran smoothly during his term. He said there is no evidence against the former immigration official yet.

"We are trained to be lawyers, nasa imbestigasyon lamang po kami, tayo, ngayon," he said.

"Kaya po napahaba pa ng gagawing imbestigasyon, so pag isang abogado po ang tinanong niyo diyan, at isa na ako, ang masasabi ko po sa inyo ay hindi po ako maniniwala hangga't wala pang pruweba. Wala pa po tayong pruweba ngayon eh," he added.

Conflict of interest?

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who led Tuesday's hearing, pointed out that Aguirre appointed Mariñas to the POD even though his father, Maynardo  Mariñas, was already the head of another BI office, the Special Operations and Communications Unit (SOCU).

Aguirre said he was not aware of this because he did not "micromanage" the Department of Justice's (DOJ) attached agencies. He also denied there was conflict of interest.

Hontiveros said she regrets that the father-and-son information did not give Aguirre pause in making the appointment.

"The committee disagrees na walang conflict of interest kung magkakalapit na kamag-anak, mag-ama pa, ang parehong nauupo sa SOCU at POD dahil nga itong dalawang opisina ang may kapangyarihan to review, assess and to prepare orders of all requests for VUA (visa upon arrival)," the senator said.

Aguirre resigned from the DOJ in 2018 following criticism over state prosecutors' dismissal of criminal complaints against alleged drug lords.