Ex-NBI official cleared in ‘pastillas’ scam  

MANILA, Philippines — A former official of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and an officer of the Bureau of Immigration have been acquitted of graft charges in connection with the “pastillas” scam allegedly orchestrated by BI personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

In a decision dated Jan. 3 but released only on Thursday, Joshua Paul Capiral, former head of the NBI legal assistance division, and his brother BI officer Christopher John Capiral were cleared of graft charges by the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 18.

The complaints against the Capiral brothers were filed by Jeffrery Dale Ignacio, said to be one of the members of the pastillas group in the BI.

The charges against the Capiral siblings were dismissed for lack of evidence.

“In the instant case, there was no evidence to show that they had established connections with the ombudsman, sufficient to influence the cases pending with the said office,” the court said.

The court also dismissed the robbery and extortion cases filed against the former NBI official.

In 2022, the Manila RTC Branch 45 granted the appeal of Joshua Paul, reversing the decision of the Metropolitan Trial Court Manila Branch 27 for violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

The Capirals were arrested by NBI agents during an entrapment operation in 2020 after they allegedly received marked money from Ignacio, one of the suspects implicated in the pastillas scheme.

The bribe was supposedly in exchange for the dropping of the complaint filed against Ignacio before the ombudsman.

The Office of the Ombudsman had filed graft charges against 43 people, including immigration officers, over the pastillas scheme, which involved extorting money from Chinese citizens in exchange for Philippine visas and unchecked entry into the country.