Hontiveros: 80% of P30B kickbacks from pastillas scheme allegedly went to 'masterminds'

The lion's share of the alleged P30-billion kickbacks from the "pastillas" bribery scheme within the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has been pocketed by the masterminds behind it, Senator Risa Hontiveros said Wednesday.

"A small part, estimated at 20% was used to distribute to the foot soldiers and the supervisors including 'yung mga Viber administrators nila but the lion's share, estimated 80%, we believe went to the bosses, the masterminds," Hontiveros said in an interview on ANC.

Citing information from the whistleblowers in the Senate investigation, she said the father and son Maynardo Mariñas and Marc Red Mariñas are these alleged "bosses" on top of the pyramid-like hierarchy.

Red was a former chief of the BI Ports Operations Division while his father Maynardo led the Special Operations Communications Unit.

"This was a clear case of conflict of interest. Pinahina 'yung checks and balances between those two offices, one on top of the other, na nagma-manage ng pag-process, approve, at issue ng visas upon arrival," Hontiveros said.

"Ito rin apparently ang naging efficient na business model para bigyan ng order (at) sistema ang pastillas scheme... Ginamit nila mismo 'yung BI to institutionalize — not service to travellers outbound and inbound — but to generate this illegal money," she added.

During the latest hearing, the younger Mariñas denied any involvement or knowledge of the pastillas scheme anew.

The Senate committee on women's probe in the pastillas scheme stemmed from the investigation on the prostitution tied with the entry of Chinese high rollers and offshore gaming workers in the country.

Most of the Chinese nationals who subscribed to the pastillas scheme, about 3 million, are believed to have entered the country to join the POGO industry, according to Hontiveros.

Visa upon arrival

Aside from the pastillas scheme, Hontiveros claimed that about P2 billion more have been generated by some erring BI officials from another revenue stream—the visa upon arrival (VUA).

She said former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II's issuance of Department Order No. 41 in 2017 provided the "legal underpinnings" for the VUA system.

This VUA—originally intended for business people, athlethes, and tourists, among others—was allegedly used to facilitate the entry of trafficked women for prostitution inside the country.

"Cases have not yet been filed against [former] Secretary Aguirre. Our hearings will wind up in about one or possibly two more hearings," Hontiveros said.

"When we finally write our multi-faceted committee report with all its findings and recommendations, then the NBI will be able to weigh if there is evidence for them to also consider a case, even a case against a higher official," she added.

Aguirre, for his part, said during the hearing that he was not involved in the actual implementation of the VUA and claimed that it was former Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo who insisted on having the VUA to attract more tourists.

Hontiveros said the committee is inclined to recommend the permanent abolition of the VUA system. Issuance of such has been suspended since January because of the COVID-19 pandemic.—AOL, GMA News