The senator confronts immigration officials at a hearing after an informant alleges that the entry of POGO employees is facilitated for P10,000 per person
MANILA–Senator Risa Hontiveros confronted Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials on Monday, February 17, if they were aware of the modus, where Chinese employees of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) allegedly seamlessly enter the country for a P10,000 fee per person.
BI authorities said that it was the first time for them to hear of the systematic practice, which the senator said was called pastillas because payouts are rolled in bond paper. Now compensation is more sophisticated, with payouts placed in envelopes and free lunch provided by the Chinese.
In a Senate hearing that probed sex trafficking and prostitution rings linked to POGOs, Hontiveros showed a video and screenshots of Viber groups of immigration employees facilitating the entry of Chinese persons. The screenshots contained names, flight details, and photos of the arriving Chinese.
“You have been in charge since November 2018…. Either you are complicit or you are negligent. And I don’t know which is worse,” Hontiveros told the immigration officials present.
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