MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police Civil Security Group (PNP-CSG) yesterday ordered a crackdown on police officers moonlighting as security escorts of Chinese nationals and other foreigners allegedly involved in money laundering.
CSG director Maj. Gen. Roberto Fajardo issued the directive following reports that some $370 million was smuggled into the country by two syndicates last year with the help of unscrupulous policemen and soldiers.
“I have ordered a crackdown on these VIP security,” Fajardo said.
Through a memorandum, Fajardo directed his personnel to coordinate with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and Highway Patrol Group for the conduct of joint operations against police officers providing “colorum” security.
Fajardo said he has yet to receive information that some police officers are helping criminal syndicates smuggle money into the country.
He warned that those who are found to be involved in the scheme risk dismissal from the service for committing a grave offense.
“That’s grave abuse of authority so it’s dismissable,” Fajardo said.
PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac hit back at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) which released a report that erring police officers have colluded with money laundering syndicates in the entry of dirty money through the country’s airports.
“The PNP takes strong exception to the information shared by the Bureau of Customs that policemen facilitated the smuggling of foreign currency through the airport,” Banac said in a statement as he chided the BOC for releasing the report without coordinating with the PNP.
“An internal investigation can be initiated by the PNP if only BOC can provide more substantial information or leads to validate the information,” he said.
Banac explained that smuggling happens at the airside area of the airports, a place which has no police presence.
“The airside area of the airport is not among the areas of operation of the PNP,” he said.
Banac said only personnel of agencies handling security, immigration, customs and other administrative requirements of passengers are present at airside.
The police unit assigned at the airport, the Aviation Security Group, only provides general law enforcement and public safety functions at the landside area of the airport which is open to the public, according to Banac.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros vowed to push for measures that would stop human trafficking using the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and sustain law enforcement operations against prostitution.
Hontiveros, chair of Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality, said she will propose a measure to ensure continuous law enforcement operations against such illegal activities and support rehabilitation for rescued women.
“Our committee report will focus on how to break human trafficking operation right inside the Bureau of Immigration and how to support continuous raids, rescues and arrests by law enforcement agencies NBI and PNP, and not to forget, how to support the rehabilitation of these rescued women,” said Hontiveros.
Hontiveros said based on gathered information, human trafficking and so-called pastillas bribery scheme plagued the BI, which allowed the unimpeded entry of Chinese tourists into the country to work in Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).
She said many senators indicated their intention to express the “sense of the Senate” for the immediate suspension of all POGOs, aside from the resolution seeking the immediate crackdown on illegal POGOs.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente is not yet off the hook even if President Duterte has given him a chance to solve the problems in his bureau, Malacañang said yesterday.
Nineteen immigration personnel have been relieved from their posts in the wake of the pastillas scandal, a bribery scheme that facilitated the entry of illegal Chinese workers.
Morente, who served as Davao police chief when Duterte was mayor of the southern city, was retained in his post and given the opportunity to fix the alleged corruption in the bureau.
But presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Morente might still be relieved from his duties if there is evidence linking him to irregularities.
“If there is evidence that he is involved, he won’t escape (accountability),” Panelo told reporters in a chance interview.
“No sacred cows. If it’s corruption, he (Duterte) does not want it,” he added.
Panelo said the shake-up in the immigration bureau would be “as far as it reaches all those involved.”
“As long as there is corruption, there are acts against the law, everyone will be covered (by the shake-up), regardless of who will be affected,” the Palace spokesman said.
Panelo said Duterte is making a list of immigration personnel who would be relieved from their posts, and the firing of these officials may happen “soon.”
Last Tuesday, Duterte said the immigration officials to be dismissed include his fraternity brothers at Lex Talionis.
Aguirre vs Tulfo
Former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre and newspaper columnist Ramon Tulfo continue to trade accusations amid the controversy on the pastillas bribery scheme.
Aguirre maintained that he has nothing to do with the scheme at the BI, having retired as justice secretary about two years ago. The BI is an attached agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“All hearsay, sinasangkalan lang si Chiong, but they did not bother to check with him during the Senate hearing,” Aguirre said in an interview on “The Chiefs” aired on One News of Cignal TV.
Aguirre was referring to whistleblower BI officer 1 Allison Chiong who had earlier identified some of the BI officers involved in the pastillas syndicate.
Aguirre said he plans to file another libel case against Tulfo who earlier claimed that Chiong had told him that Aguirre is the protector of members of the pastillas scheme.
Aguirre admitted that he signed a DOJ circular on visa upon arrival (VUA) but he claimed that he signed the circular upon the request of then tourism secretary Wanda Tulfo Teo, who is Tulfo’s sister, in an apparent effort of the Department of Tourism to attract more Chinese tourists to the country.
He said VUA to Chinese tourists, athletes, investors and businessmen allow the visitors to have their visas extended effective for three months, but the visa could be extended for another three months, bringing their maximum stay to six months.
Tulfo, however, said the BI abused the VUA and allowed the entry of Chinese tourists who ended up as workers of POGOs and Chinese women as prostitutes.
In a phone patch interview also during The Chiefs, Tulfo said Aguirre had benefitted from the pastillas scheme, which he said was based on the information given to him by Chiong.
Aguirre claimed Tulfo harbors ill feelings against him since he failed to accommodate the journalist’s request to consolidate 74 libel cases filed against him by a group back when he was still DOJ chief. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Alexis Romero