DOJ mulls reinvestigation of ‘pastillas scam’

NBI legal assistance section chief Joshua Pail Capiral was arrested Monday night for accepting a bribe from a member of the “pastillas” modus involving BI personnel in exchange for exclusion from charges. (File photo by Ramon FVelasquez/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA – A reinvestigation of the so-called “pastillas scam” may be done following the arrest of a senior National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) official looking into an alleged protection racket in the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to facilitate the entry of foreigners into the country, Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday.

“If there is evidence that the previous investigation may have been compromised, a reinvestigation may be conducted,” DOJ undersecretary and spokesman Markk Perete said.

NBI legal assistance section chief Joshua Pail Capiral was arrested Monday night for accepting a bribe from a member of the “pastillas” modus involving BI personnel in exchange for exclusion from charges.

Appearing before the Senate on Tuesday, NBI anti-human trafficking division chief Janet Francisco said initial information showed that Capiral has a sibling who is also a BI official.

Earlier this month, the NBI filed criminal charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against 19 BI officers and personnel for their alleged involvement in the “pastillas” money-making scheme while assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The BI personnel are Grifton San Pedro Medina, Deon Carlo Albao, Fidel Mendoza, Abdulhafez dela Tonga Handjibasher, Gabriel Ernest Estacio, Ralph Garcia, Phol Villanueva, Abdul Calaca, Danilo Deudor, Mark Macababad, Aurelio Lucero III, George Bituin, Salahudin Hadjinoor, Chevy Naniong, Jeffrey Ignacio, Hamza Pacasum, Manuel Sarmiento III, Cherry Pie Ricolcol, and German Robin.

Liya Wu, a private individual, and owner of Empire International Travel and Tours, was also recommended to be charged with corruption of public officials.

Immigration officer Jeffrey Ignacio, was also recommended to be additionally charged with qualified trafficking in persons under Republic Act 9208 for recruiting a lady Taiwanese citizen to work in the Philippines and facilitating an easy entry into the country despite that she was a holder of a tourist visa.

He said the Taiwanese, after a week, was forcibly transferred to a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) company which she subsequently discovered to be illegal.

Her passport was confiscated, abused physically and mentally, and forced to work until she was rescued by the NBI-Special Task Force (NBI-STF) on Feb. 3, 2020.

NBI Officer-In-Charge Eric Distor said a whistleblower, an Immigration officer, testified under oath on the “pastillas” bribery scam, named for the rolls of grease money rolled up in paper like milk candy.

The whistleblower claimed the immigration officers and personnel involved in the scheme allegedly conspired in requesting and receiving money, gifts, and other benefits, including sexual favors from trafficked foreign women.

The immigration officers and personnel allegedly allowed foreigners’ entry in the country despite the absence of necessary documents as required by prevailing immigration rules and regulations in exchange for bribe money.