Pastillas scheme masterminds have 'contact' in Ombudsman, says whistleblower

The alleged leaders of the pastillas group which operated inside the Bureau of Immigration (BI) have a contact in the Office of the Ombudsman, a Senate witness claimed on Tuesday.

During the continuation of the Senate panel investigation on the pastillas scheme which allegedly allowed Chinese nationals to smoothly enter the Philippines, self-confessed pastillas group member Immigration Officer II Jeffrey Dale Ignacio said their bosses called a meeting after the National Bureau of Investigation issued them subpoenas.

He tagged former BI Port Operations Division chief Marc Red Mariñas as the alleged leader of the pastillas group.

"Ang naalala ko po ay sinabi ni Sir Red na may contact daw sila sa Ombudsman. Umalis po nang maaga sina Sir Red at Fidel Mendoza dahil imi-meet pa daw nila ang contact nila," Ignacio told the panel.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, presiding over the hearing, asked the National Bureau of Investigation if they know who this connection was.

NBI Special Action Unit chief Emetrio Dongallo Jr. said they are looking into it.

"Isa rin pong interes namin 'yan kasi naisiwalat din po sa amin ng ating second witness, ni Mr. Ignacio, na these bosses are informing the team na mayroon silang contact sa Ombudsman. That is also part of the investigation," he said.

The NBI recently nabbed its own legal assistance chief Joshua Paul Capiral after Ignacio divulged to the agency that there was an ongoing collusion between the embattled pastillas group and the official.

Capiral allegedly accepted bribes from members of the pastillas gang in exchange for their exclusion from criminal charges over the modus.

Moreover, Dongallo said the NBI sees the possibility of arresting more than 40 individuals involved in the pastillas scheme after Capiral's supposed transactions were discovered.

"Ang implication po nito, ma'am, there will be more charges and more personalities will be charged. Mas magiging marami po kaysa sa original na 40 o 41, mas magiging marami po sa tingin ng team," he said.

The NBI previously filed complaints against 19 BI personnel who were allegedly involved in the pastillas scheme.—AOL, GMA News