THE Senate accepted in plenary Wednesday an extensive report on the two-year “Pastillas scam” inquiry on Bureau of Immigration anomalies submitted by Senate probers .
“Today, the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality writes finis to more than two years of investigation on what we now know as the pastillas scam,” Sen. Risa Hontiveros reported at Wednesday’s session.
Recalling that the inquiry started with a simple goal, Hontiveros reminded that Senate Resolution No. 131 was “filed in the wake of continuous media reports on prostitution rings being busted by law enforcement agents.”
“These prostitution rings were found to be serving a largely Chinese clientele, many or most of whom working in various POGO outfits,” she said, referring to Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators, adding: “Proteksyon ng mga kababaihan at kabataan ang aming pakay. Dalawang taon rin ang inabot natin imbestigasyong ito, dahil kada salang natin ay may natutuklasan tayong bagong ebidensya [We started out with protecting women and youth. This investigation took two years, because each time we called a hearing, we wold uncover more evidence].”
The senator recalled that “we were already surprised by the extent of the evidence,” adding in Filipino, “We obtained screen shots from the WeChat app, where women would be compared to cars or to tea. As we saw in the video, we also learned that it’s not simply women, but minors, who were victimized in this flesh trade.”
She added that “according to Alias Carina, she was recruited in October of 2019, along with one other underaged friend, to perform so-called “massage services” for Chinese customers. The minimum amount was P6,000 or what they call “gosak” (somehow a corruption of “sakto”).”
According to her, “the amount increases if they are asked to spend the night or perform extra services,” adding how the youngest victim, aged 14, got infected with “STD’ [sexually transmitted disease] because one customer paid her extra so he won’t have to wear a condom. It was this 14-year-old who tipped off police, setting off the events that led to the rescue of the trafficked women.
The senator also recalled that after some weeks another one alias Ivy, a 23 year-old Taiwanese went to the same office thinking she would be working at an ad agency, but which turned out to be for a provider of POGO-related sex “services.” Her passport was taken away, preventing her from “escaping” as their boss was harassing her, Hontiveros recalled, adding that Ivy complained how, each time her boss would scold her, he would drop the name of one Michael Yang. Right now, “Ivy said she is safely back in Taiwan, with thanks to the assistance of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO),” said the senator.
But the game-changing point of the pastillas inquiry came with the testimony of immigration officer Alex Chiong, who literally “walked in” to her office, and divulged the massive corruption of bureau personnel to allow free entry even of unqualified, mostly Chinese workers. The bribes were given inside rolled up paper, hence, the name “pastillas”—a reference to a popular local Filipino candy made of milk and sugar.