Whistleblowers tag BI personnel in 'pastillas scam' in trafficking of OFWs to Syria

The whistleblowers from the Bureau of Immigration on Tuesday claimed that the individuals from the agency allegedly involved in the so-called in-bound "pastillas scam" are the same persons who figured in the trafficking of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Syria.

During the hearing of the Senate committee on women, immigration officer Allison Chiong, one of the whistleblowers, testified on some Viber screenshots which displayed the list of names of women to be trafficked out of the country.

The said names were signed by a certain "FM," which Chiong said stands for Fidel Mendoza, the alleged right hand man of former ports chief Red Mariñas, the supposed pastillas "big fish."

It was only last year when Hontiveros led a series of Senate inquiries into the "pastillas scam," where officials at the BI received P10,000 for every unchecked entry of a Chinese national in the country.

The senator likewise uncovered that travel agencies involved in the scheme offered help to the Chinese nationals who want their names removed from the BI's blacklist in exchange for an amount.

With Chiong's admission that FM stands for Fidel Mendoza, he said: "Siya ang may hawak. Sila ang may hawak. Iisang grupo lang din."

(He handles that. They handle that. It's just one group.)

Immigration officer Dale Ignacio, the other whistleblower, attested to the statement of Chiong.

"Hindi ako part ng group sa departure, pero based on my personal knowledge and from what I heard from fellow officers, same lang din. Kung sino ang namamalakad sa baba (arrival), sa taas ganun din (departure)," he said, referring to the configuration at the airport.

(I wasn't part of the group for departure, but based on my personal knowledge and from what I heard from fellow officers, it's the same. The persons who are involved below [arrival], they're also the ones at the top [departure].)

"Iisang grupo ang nagpapatakbo (It's being run by one group)," he added.

Hontiveros has presented four OFWs who testified on how BI personnel were involved in their trafficking to Syria. Some of them alleged that BI personnel were paid P50,000 per person to ensure their smooth entry into the Middle Eastern state.

Chiong attested to the testimony of the OFWs, who said that BI personnel would indeed meet with their recruiters in an area near the airport to settle the payment.

The OFWs would then be escorted by different individuals at the airport — from the check-in counter up until their board the airplane, he said.

Chiong even alleged that visa readers of the airline were part of the scheme.

"Yung business model nila, well-built business model (Their business model is well-built)," he said.

Senator Joel Villanueva was hoping that the airlines whose visa readers are allegedly involved in the scam could be identified.

Meanwhile, BI commissioner Jaime Morente revealed the names of the immigration officers who stamped the passports of the four trafficked Filipina workers. They are Mark Darwin Talha, Nerissa Pineda, John Michael Angeles, and Ervin Ortañez.

Angeles was among the 86 BI officers charged by the National Bureau of Investigation in November 2020, while Ortañez is the son of Erwin Ortañez, the overall Travel Control Enforcement Unit head during the reign of the Mariñas.

Apart from these individuals, Morente said the Department of Foreign Affairs has referred around 44 names of possible trafficked women. He added that they have also identified that immigration officers who stamped the departure clearance of these trafficked individuals.

"They are now the subject of a fact-finding committee that I created and I have requested also the DOJ (Department of Justice) to help in the investigation of this," he added.—AOL, GMA News