{"id":245608,"date":"2020-02-20T18:20:35","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T23:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=245608"},"modified":"2020-02-20T18:20:35","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T23:20:35","slug":"prrd-believes-in-morentes-integrity-despite-pastillas-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/02\/20\/prrd-believes-in-morentes-integrity-despite-pastillas-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"PRRD believes in Morente\u2019s integrity despite \u2018pastillas\u2019 scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
In a speech delivered in Davao City, Duterte said Morente continues to enjoy his trust, despite controversies hounding the BI. (File photo<\/a>: Armed Forces of the Philippines\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Thursday expressed confidence that Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente has no involvement in the supposed \u201cpastillas\u201d scheme or the unlawful money-making activity by some immigration personnel.<\/p>\n

In a speech delivered in Davao City, Duterte said Morente continues to enjoy his trust, despite controversies hounding the BI.<\/p>\n

Duterte issued the statement as he disclosed that he ordered the relief of BI officials and employees allegedly engaged in the \u201cpastillas\u201d scheme.<\/p>\n

He said he \u201cloves\u201d Morente, a former Davao police chief, because of the latter\u2019s \u201ckindness\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cKahapon<\/em>, I terminated all\u00a0sa kay<\/em>\u00a0Morente. Apparently, si Morente,\u00a0mahal ko iyan kasi<\/em>\u00a0chief of police\u00a0iyan dito. Mabait iyan. Hindi niya kaya<\/em>\u00a0(Yesterday, I terminated all those who were under Morente\u2019s supervision. I love Morente because he was the chief of police here. He\u2019s kind. He cannot do such unlawful act),\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

Earlier Friday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo announced that all BI personnel involved in the collection of \u201cunauthorized\u201d fees among Chinese workers in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators have been relieved of their duties.<\/p>\n

During a Palace press briefing, Panelo said Duterte viewed such illicit activity as a \u201cgrave form of corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n

The President said he already ordered the filing of charges against those involved in the \u201cpastillas\u201d scheme.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Yung lahat<\/em>\u00a0(ng<\/em>\u00a0BI personnel)\u00a0sa<\/em>\u00a0NAIA,\u00a0sabi ko file-an mo ng kaso. Tapos pinaalis ko<\/em>, with the end view of dismissal (I said file a case against all BI personnel in NAIA who are linked to the scheme. I already relieved them, with the end view of dismissal),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday revealed that some erring BI personnel are receiving PHP10,000 as \u201cgrease money\u201d from Chinese nationals who want to get special treatment upon their arrival in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

The scheme was called \u201cpastillas\u201d because the money was allegedly concealed in rolled bond paper that is akin to the wrapper for the milk candy.<\/p>\n

BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said about 18 Immigration personnel were relieved from their posts due to their supposed link to the bribery scheme.<\/p>\n

Issues surrounding BI will be tackled in the next Cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n

Duterte reiterated his warning to corrupt public officials to stop testing his patience, telling them that he would not hesitate to go after them.<\/p>\n

He, however, assured that government workers who are performing well would get his support.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not tempt the gods. Just do your work, I will protect you,\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Thursday expressed confidence that Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente has no involvement …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":240320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-245608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245608"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":245609,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245608\/revisions\/245609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}