19 BI employees charged over ‘pastillas’ scam

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday filed graft charges against 19 Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials and personnel allegedly involved in the “pastillas” scheme that allowed the unchecked entry of foreigners, mostly Chinese, into the country in exchange for bribe money.

The NBI filed the complaint before the ombudsman against the BI employees for allegedly accepting money for the entry of foreign nationals “without passing through the normal immigration process and screening.”

The respondents are Port Operations Division acting chief Grifton Medina, Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 traffic control and enforcement unit deputy head Dean Albao, NAIA immigration supervisor Abdulhafez Hadjibasher, senior immigration officer Er German Robin and security guard Fidel Mendoza.

Also charged were BI officers Gabriel Estacio, Ralph Garcia, Phol Villanueva, Abdul Calaca, Danilo Deudor, Mark Macababad, Aurelio Lucero III, George Bituin, Salahudin Hadjinoor, Chevy Naniong, Jeffrey Ignacio, Hamza Pacasum, Manuel Sarmiento III and Cherry Pie Ricolcol.

Medina was implicated for reportedly allowing the scheme to flourish under his watch, the NBI said.

Medina designated Mendoza as his chief of staff, who was investigated by the Senate for allegedly having millions in net worth despite working as a security guard.

Empire International Travel and Tours owner Liya Wu was included in the charge sheet as a private respondent for corruption of public officials.

Wu allegedly paid the money for the “seamless entry of Chinese passengers.”

In an interview with The STAR, NBI special action unit chief Emeterio Dongallo said the amount for each foreigner who were allowed entry ranged from P10,000 to as much as hundreds of thousands of pesos, depending on whether or not the foreigner had a criminal record as a fugitive.

“This is just the first batch. Besides bribing, there were allegations that sexual favors were provided by Chinese women in exchange for their entry,” Dongallo said.

The complaint was filed before the ombudsman to have the BI officials preventively suspended while under investigation, the NBI official said.

In the complaint, the NBI said although there have been speculations of backdoor entrance and exit for trafficked persons at the airports, whistle-blower BI officer Allison Chiong provided evidence that the trafficking happened “through the frontline manned by corrupt immigration officials.”

The NBI said it found as “meritorious” Chiong’s allegations that money passed hands from the “Chinese suppliers” to the BI officers in exchange for the entry of foreigners into the country from 2017 to 2020.

“The pastillas scheme allowed the unchecked entry of foreigners, mostly Chinese POGO workers, into the country even though they did not merit admission – all for monetary considerations,” the NBI said.

The NBI managed to obtain copies of conversations in three Viber groups where the respondents discussed their share in the money wrapped in brown envelopes.

The bureau looked into the immigration records of foreigners identified in the Viber groups and discovered that they entered the country as tourists. Chiong forwarded to the NBI video clips at the NAIA Terminal 1 that she took using a spy pen, one of which showed Chinese passengers being ushered one by one from the queue to the irritation of the other people waiting in line.

Chiong also submitted as evidence a photo of three male uniformed BI officers huddled around a table with money in brown envelopes.

BI acting spokesman Melvin Mabulac said the filing of charges against the immigration officers would be an opportunity for the respondents to defend themselves in the proper forum.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros welcomed the filing of criminal charges against the BI personnel. –  Cecille Suerte Felipe, Robertzon Ramirez