Aguirre to sue Tulfo, denies being 'protector' of immigration 'pastillas' scheme

Former Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said  Monday that he will sue columnist Ramon Tulfo Jr. for linking him to the "pastillas" scheme at the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

Aguirre denied backing the syndicate that allegedly allowed Chinese nationals to skip the immigration process for a fee.

"The charges of Ramon Tulfo are absolute lies and a complete fabrications of Tulfo. I was told that he was the only one saying that in the Senate. That even his so-called whistleblower did not say what he was accusing me of," Aguirre said in a statement.

The former Justice chief said he had filed "numerous" libel and cyber libel cases against Tulfo over these same allegations that are now pending before courts in Manila.

"For repeating these falsities, I will write the Senate Committee of Sen. Hontiveros to invite me and Tulfo if there is any future hearing so I could refute them and tell Tulfo to his face that he is liar," Aguirre said.

"I will again file new cases against Tulfo. Kahit saan, I could face anybody for I am completely innocent of his charges," he added.

Tulfo made the accusation at a Senate hearing on the "pastillas" scheme, citing Allison Chiong, the immigration officer who described and identified immigration personnel allegedly behind the modus.

"Base po sa sinabi sa 'kin ni Mr. Chiong, siya po 'yung protector ng sindikato, si former Secretary Aguirre," Tulfo said.

He claimed it was Aguirre who placed the father and son tandem of Maynardo and Red Mariñas to oversee the visa upon arrival system in the country.

"He wanted to get back at me because I did not grant his request to consolidate the more than 70 INC (Iglesia Ni Cristo) cases in Manila because he was complaining of inconvenience and expenses traveling throughout the country to answer the INC complaints," Aguirre said.—AOL, GMA News