FILE PHOTO: Self-confessed member of the so-called “pastillas” group Immigration Officer II Jeffrey Dale Ignacio —Senate PRIB
MANILA, Philippines — An immigration officer who helped expose the “pastillas scam” — a bribery racket that allowed the unchecked entry of Chinese nationals into the country — has been spared from corruption charges after the Sandiganbayan accepted the prosecution’s move to have him as a witness rather than as a respondent.
The motion to amend the case information and remove Jeffrey Dale Ignacio’s name among the charged individuals drew protest from defense attorneys representing his colleagues in the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
But the objections were overruled by the antigraft court’s Seventh Division during Friday’s hearing.
Ignacio, who has been granted immunity by the Office of the Ombudsman, joins another informant and coworker, Allison Chiong, who was never charged in the case, as witnesses for the prosecution, both of them now in a position to potentially pin down their colleagues allegedly involved in the airport scam.
But unlike Chiong, a state witness under the government’s witness protection program, Ignacio, who confessed to being part of the pastillas scam before his testimony in a Senate inquiry two years ago, is considered only an “ordinary witness,” the court said.
50 arraigned
The BI personnel were accused of accepting P10,000 each as “service fee,” with banknotes rolled up in white bond paper to look like the milk candy for which the scheme was named, from at least 143 Chinese passengers who were allowed to enter the country without going through customs and immigration procedures, from 2017 onward.
On Friday, the 50 remaining individuals named in the case were arraigned, of whom 35 pleaded not guilty to the charge of violating Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Fifteen others refused to enter a plea, prompting the presiding justice to do so on their behalf, as mandated under court rules.
Among them was Marc Red Mariñas, the BI’s former deputy commissioner who headed its ports operations division and alleged ringleader of the group.
Liya Wu, owner and proprietor of Empire International Travel and Tours, whose travel agency was said to have paid bribes for the entry of its clients without having to undergo customary entry processes, entered a not guilty plea.
Wu’s travel agency was identified as one of the key players in the pastillas scheme, as it allegedly routinely provided the BI officers a list of Chinese passengers seeking “VIP treatment” upon arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Passenger lists, coming from various travel agencies, were purportedly sent to Viber group chats with immigration officers, according to the prosecution.
In the amended charge sheet, state prosecutors said Ignacio, who held the position of immigration officer III, was being discharged as an accused in exchange for testifying against other individuals implicated in the bribery scheme.
Along with Chiong, he was presented by Sen. Risa Hontiveros as a star witness during the series of Senate hearings in 2020 that investigated the apparent unhampered arrival of hundreds of thousands of Chinese into the country.
The defense lawyers, among them Joel Ferrer, who represents Mariñas and three others, and Erika Gallego, who represents three more accused, spent over an hour challenging the prosecutors’ move to remove Ignacio from the list of accused.
Human trafficking case
They argued that amending the case information would violate their clients’ right to due process, citing a human trafficking case involving Ignacio, which they said showed he was not fit to become a witness.
Gallego also invoked Rule 119 under the rules of court, questioning Ignacio’s credibility to take the stand.
But Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses, the Seventh Division chair, along with Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Georgina Hidalgo, said the prosecution was well within its rights to amend the criminal information before trial.
Addressing Gallego, Tang said Rule 119 could not be invoked since the prosecution had not yet presented its evidence.
Over the lawyers’ objections, Trespeses granted the prosecution’s motion.
After the hearing, news media tried to get Ignacio’s comment but they were barred by a security team.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Ferrer maintained that Ignacio should not have been exempted from criminal charges, as “he seems to be the most guilty.
Ordinary witness
He said, however, that it was good for the defense that Ignacio did not end up as a state witness, which “could make a lot of difference.”
“But with the ruling of the court now, he will be considered as an ordinary witness,” Ferrer said.
“He (Ignacio) would be the only link that would support and complement the testimony of the … lone witness of the prosecution,” he added, referring to Chiong.
Ferrer also explained why one of his clients, Mariñas, refused to enter a plea, saying the move was consistent with their plan to challenge the Sandiganbayan’s jurisdiction over the former BI official.
The lawyer said the Sandiganbayan could only exercise jurisdiction over government officers under Salary Grade 27 and above, claiming Mariñas was only under Salary Grade 15.
Mariñas and the other accused were charged in June. He resigned from his post before the scam broke out and ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Muntinlupa City in the May elections.
In January, Hontiveros’ panel recommended corruption charges against the BI officers involved in the racket. When the officers, including Ignacio, were indicted, the senator urged the Ombudsman to spare him from the charges, considering his role in helping blow the lid off the scam.