Is the country seeing a “new chapter” of the “pastillas” scheme where corrupt immigration officials illegally allowed entry to unqualified aliens for a fee? Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros raised this question on Wednesday as she signaled plans to seek an inquiry into reports that many Chinese nationals have…
The 45 personnel of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) who were dismissed for administrative offenses related to the pastillas scheme are no longer reporting for work, the Department of Justice said Monday.
The Ombudsman said that the bribery scheme "allowed the entry of foreign passengers into the country without going through regular and stringent profiling or screening processes in violation of existing immigration rules and procedures."
The Office of the Ombudsman has filed graft charges before the Sandiganbayan against 42 Bureau of Immigration (BI) personnel allegedly involved in the "pastillas scam," or bribery, that allows the illegal entry of Chinese citizens into the country.