The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is urged to track down the travel agencies involved in a supposedly new immigration scam, where papers of foreigners, particularly Chinese nationals, are fixed even before they land in the Philippines.

“Akala ko COVID-19 lang ang nagmumutate, pati pastillas scam na rin pala. Dati pang kasabwat sa korapsyon sa Bureau of Immigration (BI) ang mga travel agencies sa ilegal na pagpapasok ng mga Chinese. May pandemya na, nagpapakasasa pa rin ang mga nansasamantala,” said Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday, February 22.

(I thought it was only COVID-19 that could mutate, but it turns out the pastillas scam could, too. The Bureau of Immigration has long been in cahoots with travel agencies that allow the illegal entry of Chinese nationals. People are still taking advantage of others despite the pandemic.)

Hontiveros was referring to an NBI entrapment reported by ABS-CBN News, where a person named Vivian Lara was caught inside the BI receiving P900,000 in marked money to process the papers of 3 Chinese nationals.

Lara was caught inside the office of a BI lawyer, Arnulfo Maminta. Lara said the Chinese nationals are clients of a travel agency.

In a statement, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said Lara’s accreditation in the BI expired in January, meaning she had no authorization to transact with the bureau when she was entrapped.

The accreditation of the law firm linked to Lara has also been suspended indefinitely, said Morente.

“We are also investigating the breach of security protocols inside the BI building, as she was able to enter despite her ID expiring last month, as well as use an office for her transaction,” said Morente. 

“We had our men scan CCTV footage to look into possible accomplices of Lara, as well as ensure that the BI grounds are rid of fixers,” Morente added.

Hontiveros, who led the Senate investigations into the so-called pastillas scam, where arriving Chinese nationals get their visas upon payment at the airport, said the new scam seems to involve “the same cast of characters.”

“This is a direct threat to our national security. We’ve already established that Chinese syndicates have exploited our women and children, among many other unspeakable crimes,” Hontiveros said. 

Close to a hundred BI officials have been sued for graft over the pastillas scam. The scandal spilled over to the NBI, after an NBI legal officer and his brother who is a BI personnel were caught approaching officials sued in the scam and offering them a way out of the charges for a fee. – Rappler.com