(Eagle News) — Immigration Chief Jaime Morente on Thursday, Feb. 27, ordered a “total revamp” of personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Morente ordered the revamp amid the so-called “pastillas scheme” involving the escort of Chinese nationals by immigration personnel into the country for a fee.
“This practice of rotating and changing assignments on a regular and programmed basis is both a means to enable better performance and encourage skill upgrades, as well as a necessary precaution against possible avenues for graft and corruption,” he said in a statement.
According to Morente, the “changes in management responsibilities and section assignments in our airports are part of the on-going actions that are being taken to address the recent resurgence of unauthorized activities and irregularities, as major steps have already been made to address these issues since 2016.”
He said these “irregularities and their consequences impact on morale and detract from the professionalism and service that the men and women of the Bureau of Immigration are pledged to provide.”
The bureau, he added, has activated new protocols in the conduct of secondary inspections in open areas “for transparency” and installed additional CCTV cameras in all areas of primary inspectors.
He said the bureau has also asked the Department of Justice for assistance in expanding its investigation to include private entities that act as the “recruiters” of the foreigners.
“These agencies, as mentioned in the Senate hearing, have counterparts both in China and in the Philippines who reportedly receive bulk of the grease money given by Chinese nationals who avail of said VIP treatment,” he said.
“We see this as one of the major root causes, as these agencies are the source of the corruption,” he added.
At least 19 have been placed in floating status following the revelations made during hearings conducted by a Senate panel probing issues stemming from the proliferation of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations.
President Rodrigo Duterte has stood by Morente, but the Palace said he was not off the hook.
