Duterte to face suspended BI execs

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte will face next week the Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman last month for alleged involvement in “pastillas” scam, Sen. Bong Go said yesterday.

Go said Duterte would make good with his promise to publicly name government officials involved in corruption in the coming months.

“In fact on Monday, he will face those from the BI and talk to them,” Go said.

“Filipinos are already heavily burdened. Don’t take advantage of them. In the fight against corruption, President Duterte and I will pursue you,” he added.

Based on similar meetings in the past, Duterte usually gives corrupt officials a dressing down.

Last month, the ombudsman suspended 44 BI officers for alleged involvement in the pastillas racket.

Under the scheme, each Chinese – most of whom reportedly ended up working for Philippine offshore gaming operators – were charged P10,000 and given visas upon arrival (VUA).

The scam was investigated in the Senate where Sen. Risa Hontiveros, based on whistle-blowers’ testimonies, estimated that some P40 billion have lined the pockets of corrupt officials from the BI and other agencies since 2017.

She said the bulk of the suspected pocketed money came from the illegal entry of Chinese citizens through VUA and non-VUA schemes.

According to the figures provided by the bureau, around four million Chinese have entered the Philippines since 2017.

Of the number, around 3.8 million Chinese were non-VUA applicants while around 150,000 were VUA applicants, Hontiveros said.

One-strike policy

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente adopted yesterday a “one-strike policy” against erring employees in a bid to end corruption and other anomalies in the BI.

BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said the bureau would immediately relieve officers found to have been involved in corruption.

“Any complaint, if found with merit, will cause the relief of the erring personnel,” Sandoval said.

She said the relieved personnel would be assigned to the BI administrative division and would not be given “sensitive posts” pending the resolution of the cases.

Morente also ordered the newly formed Board of Discipline to assess complaints against BI personnel.