5 NAIA immigration execs sacked over ‘pastillas’

MANILA, Philippines, February 19 ------ Five officials of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) were relieved from their posts on Monday shortly after it called an investigation on the so-called “pastillas scheme,” where immigration officers are allegedly accepting bribes from Chinese nationals. Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval, who refused to disclose the identity of the immigration officials, said all the terminal heads and heads of the travel control and enforcement unit of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) were relieved “due to command responsibility.”

Sandoval, however, emphasized that the five officials are “not necessarily the center of the investigation” as they are looking into the “bigger picture” to determine how the scheme works. “They are not necessarily the center of the investigation. The management is looking at the bigger picture, all that might be connected to this alleged scheme, whether internal or external,” she told reporters.

Sandoval added that the five officials were given different assignments pending investigation of the so-called pastillas scheme, which was exposed during the Senate investigation into the crimes committed by Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) on Monday. While she admitted that the relief of the five officials will surely affect their operations at the NAIA due to lack of manpower, Sandoval said it is “a sacrifice” that they could do to ensure a smooth investigation.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente immediately called for an investigation to determine whether the alleged scheme still exists, to identify the persons involved in the scheme and file charges against them. “We are not taking this lightly,” Morente said. He added that he has already requested the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the alleged malpractice of immigration officers at the airports.

Source: philstar.com