Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday urged the Office of the Ombudsman to reconsider the inclusion of one of the whistleblowers in the “pastillas” scam among the Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials who were placed under a six-month suspension over the alleged bribery scheme.
Hontiveros said Jeffrey Dale Ignacio, who turned state witness by testifying how BI officials institutionalized corruption in the agency, has been included in the suspension order.
“I hope the Ombudsman can consider reversing this order against Dale as his testimony, which completed the picture of the corrupt system in the BI, has been invaluable in our Senate probe as well as the NBI’s (National Bureau of Investigation) own investigation,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
The head of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, and Gender Equality, however, said that she is gratified to see the Ombudsman imposing the six-month preventive suspension without pay on the 44 BI personnel and officials involved in the said illegal scheme saying it is a “welcome and necessary development” in the Senate panel’s own investigation.
“Having led the pastillas scam inquiry for almost 10 months now, I am gratified to see that the sacrifices of our whistleblowers, the fruits of our labor, and the diligence of our law enforcers can bring erring officials to justice,” she said.
“Nonetheless, I would like to thank Ombudsman Samuel Martires for acting on the results of our investigation, and I trust that his office will also go after the big fish — including those who are no longer in the BI and cannot be the subject of preventive suspension,” she added.
Hontiveros also lauded the NBI for remaining steadfast in its resolve to charge even one of their own, such as Atty. Joshua Capiral, who was found to have been part of the money-making racket.
The senator pointed out that such a scheme had “only endangered our borders and brought harm to our women and children.”
“I am positive that with the bureau’s dedication, more corrupt BI officials will be held to account,” she said.
“I trust that both the NBI and the Ombudsman are as devoted to these cases as we are in my Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality. Together, let us show that justice in this country can indeed be served,” she added.