Sandiganbayan denies Immigration officials' motion to quash 'pastillas scam' graft raps

The Sandiganbayan junked the motion of three Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers to quash the graft charges filed against them in connection with the "Pastillas scam the bribery scheme that allegedly allowed the illegal entry of Chinese citizens into the country, due to lack of merit.

In a July 27 Resolution, the anti-graft court dismissed the motion to quash filed by Aurelio Lucero III, George Bituin, and Salahudin Hadjinoor, all ranked Immigration Officer 3.

Government prosecutors charged the BI officers and 39 others with graft, alleging that these BI employees conspired with each other and Liya Wu of Empire International Travel and Tours, to "willfully, unlawfully... give unwarranted benefits, preference or advantage to foreign passengers, particularly Chinese nationals" by supposedly collecting a P10,000 fee per passenger for a total amount of P1.43 million.

The Sandiganbayan cited the Supreme Court decision in the People v. Dapitan case which provides that Republic Act 8249, which established the anti-graft court, states that the Sandiganbayan exercises jurisdiction over all officials occupying positions in the government, whether in a permanent, acting, or interim capacity.

"We deny the motion to quash for lack of merit. [The] accused do not dispute that a Deputy Commissioner [like their co-accused Marc Mariñas] falls under Salary Grade 27. The fact that Mariñas' appointment did not become permanent is of no moment," the Sandiganabayan said.

"The Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over the offense and the accused. There is no doubt that Mariñas' designation as officer-in-charge is either in an acting, or interim capacity. Precisely, within the jurisdiction of this Court," the Sandiganbayan added.

The Sandiganbayan then said that Mariñas, being under Salary Grade 27 during his tenure, is sufficient for the court to exercise its jurisdiction.

Likewise, the anti-graft court cited that the graft raps filed by government prosecutors were sufficient in form and substance.

"[The] accused [who filed the motion to quash] insist that the arrival dates of the foreigners facilitated by the 'pastillas group' are beyond the time Mariñas was acting as Deputy Commissioner. This court reminds the accused that the arrival dates are not the only relevant dates to this case. The whole period indicated in the Information must also be examined," Sandiganbayan pointed out.

"[The] accused's claim involves evidentiary matters which can be better resolved in the course of trial. Wherefore, premises considered, accused Aurelio S. Lucero III, George V. Bituin, and Salahudin P. Hadjinoor's Motion to Quash dated 08 July 2022 is denied for lack of merit," the anti-graft court added. — DVM, GMA News