Hontiveros estimates P40-B kickbacks from VUA, pastillas scheme

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday alleged that those behind a "notorious business model" at the Bureau of Immigration - the visa upon arrival system (VUA) and the pastillas scheme -  earned about P40 billion.

"Kung tutuusin, maaring P30 billion hanggang P40 billion pataas ang kinita nitong pinagsamang VUA and Pastillas na nagsimula nung binuksan natin ang ating borders sa China," Hontiveros said during the continuation of the Senate investigation into the alleged bribery scheme within the BI.

"Hindi pa kasama dito ang mga departures, kung saan binabayaran ang immigration officials para sa umaalis na Pilipino na tina-traffic abroad," she added.

Hontiveros claimed that the grease money from the pastillas scheme, estimated at around P30 billion, entered through the airports and trickled down to immigration officers.

Under the pastillas scheme, Chinese high-rollers and offshore gaming workers were allegedly paying immigration officers with envelopes filled with cash to enter the country without going through the proper immigration process.

Citing figures from the BI, the senator said there were four million Chinese nationals who entered the Philippines since 2017.

"The numbers are staggering. For the sake of comparison, four million Chinese nationals arriving here since 2017 is comparable to more than the entire population of Quezon City. Kumbaga, bakit mas marami pa sa mga residente ng QC ang bilang ng Tsino na pinapapasok sa bansa?" the senator said.

Around 3.8 million of these Chinese nationals did not avail of the visa upon arrival system, Hontiveros claimed, and three million of whom were believed to have paid the extra P10,000 service fee in the pastillas scheme to smoothly enter the country.

The alleged kickbacks from the VUA system, on the other hand, went straight to some immigration officials the senator said, as she estimated that around 150,000 Chinese nationals entered the Philippines using such visas.

Hontiveros stressed that VUA applications are being processed by travel agencies and many Chinese nationals who have availed of it were only required to send mere screenshots of their passports via a messaging app.

She said VUA applicants could be people who are being trafficked but would still be able to enter the country as long as they don't have derogatory records on paper.

"Itigil na natin itong one stop shop ng VUA processing. One stop shop ng kickbacks. One stop shop ng corruption na ang dulo ay ang pagbubukas ng ating borders sa mga di karapat-dapat na dayuhan," she said.

‘Dumarating ho sa opisina ko’

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that his office approved visa upon arrival applications and that every application was properly scrutinized.

"Dumarating ho sa opisina ko... I have directed my staff—na before giving me for my signature or approval—to re-check the completeness of documents and exercise due diligence," he said.

"Even ministerial po sa aking 'yung approval noon but I want to ensure na due diligence is done and wala hong nakakalusot na sex offender o those with criminal records na mabibigyan ng visa upon arrival," he added.

BI Special Operations Communications Unit (SOCU) chief Ruben Casibang Jr. said 112,053 Chinese nationals entered the Philippines from May 2019 to January 2020.

Amid the COVID-19 threat, the BI temporarily suspended the issuance of visas upon arrival to Chinese nationals since January.

Former BI Port Operations Division chief Marc Red Marinas, the alleged mastermind of the pastillas scheme, also denied the allegations made against him during the hearing. — DVM, GMA News