CA upholds dismissal of BI official in ‘pastillas’ scheme

The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the appeal of a former immigration officer, tagged as one of the group chat administrators of the notorious “pastillas” scheme, who had sought to overturn a 2022 grave misconduct charge.

In a 15-page decision dated June 30, the CA’s 17th Division found Gabriel Ernest Estacio guilty of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service when he “played a significant part” in conspiring with other immigration officers to solicit and receive money from Chinese nationals so they could enter the country even without the required documentation.

“Considering that Estacio was found guilty of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and grave misconduct being the most serious charge, the penalty of dismissal imposed by the Ombudsman was correct,” the appellate court said in the decision penned by Associate Justice Marietta Brawner-Cualing.

The CA effectively denied his appeal and upheld the 2022 consolidated decision of the Office of the Ombudsman that found him guilty of the two administrative charges.

‘Extent of participation’

The so-called pastillas scam was a scheme allegedly orchestrated by high-ranking officials of the Bureau of Immigration in 2017 in which Chinese nationals were allowed seamless entry into the country for a service fee of P10,000.

The bribe money given to immigration agents were hidden inside rolled up sheets of paper which resembled pastillas, a local soft candy wrapped up in wafer-thin paper, to avoid detection.

Estacio argued that his name was never mentioned in the chat groups and that there was no evidence that he received money or gave preferential treatment to any incoming passengers.

But the CA ruled that his participation was established when whistleblower Allison Chong personally identified him as a member of the chat groups 3SOME, Timbre Central, and as one of the administrators of the Viber Group Chat Administrators.

“His status as one of the administrators of the Viber group speaks volumes as to the extent and importance of his participation in the pastillas scheme,” the CA said.

The court noted that he failed to explain why his name was put in that status and why he did not make an effort to remove his name as an administrator.

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“It is of no moment that Estacio’s name was never mentioned in the messages in the Viber group chat. His membership and presence in the said Viber group is sufficient to establish that he was part of the group and has knowledge of the activities of such group,” the CA said.

‘Liable by conspiracy’

The court added: “It is sufficient that he played a significant part which was connected and cooperative to the success of the whole enterprise. Consequently, even if there was no direct evidence that Estacio received money in connection with the pastillas scheme, he is still liable by reason of conspiracy,” the CA said.

“Indeed, by allowing certain Chinese nationals to enter the country without going through the usual immigration process, Estacio compromised the integrity of the country’s immigration laws, as well as its security,” the court said.

The CA found that Estacio’s acts also constituted conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, since these “tainted the public’s perception of the BI as a government institution and undermined the country’s immigration laws.”