Immigration says fact-finding probe looking into trafficking of Filipino women to Syria
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration has rolled out a full blown investigation into the outbound trafficking of 44 Filipino women to Syria, another racket linked to the pastillas bribery scheme hounding the agency.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente told the Senate Committee on Women on Tuesday that they received information that 44 women were victimized by human trafficking syndicates.
“I have ordered the creation of a fact-finding committee to find out how these victims were able to depart the Philippines,” Morente also said in the Senate inquiry.
The Senate panel, led by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, resumed its hearing on corruption in BI. The lawmaker said last week that certain Immigration officials receive P50,000 per Filipino trafficked out of the country, citing the personal account of one of the victims of a trafficking operation to Syria.
Morente identified in the inquiry the four immigration officers (IOs) who stamped the passports of at least four victims as Mark Darwin Talha, John Michael Angeles, Nerissa Pineda and Ervin Ortañez.
Same people, different crime
During Tuesday’s hearing, Hontiveros noted that Ortañez is the son of Erwin Ortañez, the overall Travel Control and Enforcement Unit head at the BI under Ports Operation Divisions chief Marc Red Mariñas, tagged as brains behind the pastillas scheme.
Angeles meanwhile is on preventive suspension due to his alleged involvement in the racket, according to Morente.
Hontiveros also showed chat screenshots furnished by one of the whistleblowers Alex Chiong, which showed a list of women to be trafficked out of the country signed off by a certain "FM." According to Chiong, Hontiveros said, "FM" stands for Fidel Mendoza, Mariñas' right-hand man.
"Mendoza's name has repeatedly been given by our whistleblowers as one of the suppliers of trafficked women. Same cast of characters, different crime."
"As they bring Chinese criminals into the Philippines, they are driving our women out of the country to ruin," Hontiveros added in Filipino.
The BI chief said they asked for help from the Department of Justice, the bureau’s mother agency, in investigating and prosecution of those involved. He added at least 28 IOs are currently under investigation for their alleged participation to the scheme.
Morente said that while they have dismantled the pastillas scheme members since last year’s Senate inquiry and put in place safeguards to prevent it from happening again, a long-term solution would be passage of the new immigration law.
“The new law is a game change, as it will address so many problems of the Bureau. Apart from updating an already outdated 81-year-law, it will address organizational structure issues, improve employee compensation and most importantly vest the agency head a disciplinary mechanism to be able to swiftly act on reports of irregularities,” the BI chief added. — Kristine Joy Patag with reports from Bella Perez-Rubio
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