Immigration officers allegedly sold Chinese passenger names for pastillas bribes
A senior Bureau of Immigration official testified that colleagues handed over Chinese travelers' names for cash in a scheme dubbed “pastillas.”
In a Sandiganbayan hearing on six graft counts, former deputy commissioner Marc Mariñas and at least 49 others face charges for a “pastillas” scheme that let Chinese travelers bypass secondary inspection. Witness Allison Chiong testified that senior BI officers supplied the passengers' names for a fee of P10,000 each, collected in paper packets resembling the candy pastillas, amounting to P1.43 million. She named officials such as Francis Dennis “DR” Robles, Glenn Ford Silang Comia, Rodolfo Magbuhos Jr., Deon Carlo Albao, Danieve Hije Binsol, Pauk Erick Borja and Anthony Lopez as participants.
The alleged conspirators also worked with Liya Wu of Empire International Travel and Tours to grant unwarranted benefits to the foreign nationals. Chiong recounted that the passengers were allowed entry without inspection and that the money came from superiors, though she did not see the cash exchange herself.
Why it matters
The case highlights potential corruption within immigration, affecting border security and public trust.
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