Palace: Dismissal of BI personnel shows there are no 'sacred cows' in government
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Monday said it would continue pushing for measures designed to prevent corruption in government transactions as it welcomed the Office of the Ombudsman's decision to dismiss from the service immigration personnel linked to the "pastillas" bribery scam.
Acting presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said the anti-graft body's decision reflected the government's zero-tolerance policy for corruption in the bureaucracy. The Office of the Ombudsman is an independent constitutional body.
"The recent decision of the Office of the Ombudsman dismissing immigration employees in connection with the 'pastillas scam' underscores that there are no sacred cows in the Duterte administration," Andanar said in a statement.
Andanar, however, admitted that fighting corruption remains a challenge.
"We are, therefore, pushing for automation of government systems to avoid face-to-face contact, at the same eliminate redundant processes, for effective and efficient delivery of government services," the Palace spokesman said.
The ombudsman's decision covered 45 immigration employees who were linked to the "pastillas" scheme, wherein bribe money was supposedly folded like pastillas, a popular Filipino dessert, and given to immigration personnel to permit the unchecked entry of foreign nationals, mostly Chinese.
The anti-graft body found the immigration officers liable for the administrative offenses of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service. The dismissed immigration personnel were alo slapped with forfeiture of retirement benefits and cancellation of civil service eligibility.
The ombudsman said it found that the immigration employees who allowed the entry of foreign nationals into the Philippines without undergoing profiling and screening processes had "acted willfully and with a corrupt motive."
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