Sandigan nixes bid to quash ‘pastillas’ scam raps

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has maintained that it has jurisdiction over the graft case filed against former Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers in connection with the “pastillas” scam.

In a resolution promulgated on July 14, the anti-graft court’s Seventh Division denied the joint motion of former immigration officers Anthony Lopez, Francis Dennis Robles and Erwin Ortañez to have the complaint quashed over lack of jurisdiction by the court.

Lopez, Robles and Ortañez were among the 43 BI officers charged last month by the ombudsman for violating Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The case stemmed from the scheme, which allowed the unchecked entry of more than 100 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, into the country in exchange for grease money.

The Seventh Division found no merit in the argument of Lopez, Robles and Ortañez that the court has no jurisdiction over the case as none of the BI officials held a position with a Salary Grade of 27 or higher.

They argued that former BI port operations division deputy commissioner Marc Red Mariñas was mistakenly identified as having a Salary Grade of 27 even when his designation as deputy commissioner was “not permanent.”

The Sandiganbayan, however, pointed out that the position of deputy commissioner falls under Salary Grade 27, “whether in a permanent, acting or interim capacity.”

Mariñas allegedly headed the group that started the pastillas scam.

Based on the case information sheet, Mariñas and the other BI officials facilitated the entry of 143 foreigners, mostly Chinese, into the country from 2017 to 2020 without undergoing immigration procedures.

The ombudsman said the foreigners were granted VIP passage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in exchange for P10,000 each.