Ombudsman indicts 43 immigration personnel over 'pastillas' bribery

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This government photo release shows President Rodrigo Duterte meeting officials and personnel of the Bureau of Immigration allegedly involved in the ‘pastillas’ controversy at the Malacañang Palace on November 9, 2020.

ALFRED FRIAS / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

 

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 2:48 p.m.) — The Office of the Ombudsman has indicted dozens of Bureau of Immigration officials and staff over the "pastillas" bribery scheme, where foreigners were allegedly whisked past airport counters in exchange for money.

 

The scam was the subject of hearings at the Senate, which looked into whether it had been used for sex trafficking and for letting Philippine Offshore Gambling Operations workers into the Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte summoned the immigration officials to Malacañang for a dressing down and incorrectly claimed at his last State of the Nation Address in July 2021 that they had already been fired.

 

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, to the prejudice of the government and public interest."

 

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/06/07/2186698/ombudsman-indicts-43-immigration-personnel-over-pastillas-bribery

 

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