Alleged brains behind 'pastillas scheme' cited in contempt for skipping Senate hearing

A Senate panel on Tuesday cited in contempt four individuals tagged as the brains behind the "pastillas scheme" for their non-appearance in the hearing on the alleged bribery in the Bureau of Immigration (BI). 

The bribery allegedly allowed Chinese high-rollers and offshore gaming workers to enter the Philippines without undergoing proper immigration processes.

Senate Committee on Women chairperson Risa Hontiveros acted on the motion of Senator Imee Marcos to cite in contempt former BI-Ports Operation Division (POD) chief Marc Red Mariñas and his son, former Special Operations Communications Unit head Maynardo Mariñas.

Rodolfo Magbuhos and Danieve Binsol, tagged by new witness Immigration Officer II Jeffrey Dale Ignacio, as "suppliers" of Chinese nationals, were also cited in contempt.

The four, however, were represented in the hearing by their legal counsel Joel Ferrer through videoconference. He was attending from the National Bureau of Investigation office in Manila.

During Tuesday's hearing, Marc Red Mariñas was tagged by Ignacio as the leader of the group. Mariñas had earlier denied knowledge on the bribery scheme.

But Ignacio said Mariñas and his legal counsel even met with other personalities involved in the illegal scheme when they received a subpoena from the NBI after the scheme was exposed.

The witness, one of the 19 named respondents in an NBI complaint, alleged that they were tricked and used as a shield by Mariñas and others when they were advised not to answer the subpoenas.

Ferrer, on the other hand, denied giving such legal advice to Ignacio. —KBK, GMA News