Senator Risa Hontiveros on Sunday described as “alarming” the reported huge number of Chinese students in Cagayan, saying it is another “pastillas” scam.
Under the scam, airport personnel from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) were receiving P10,000 in bribes to allow foreigners–mostly Chinese–to enter the country without going through the proper immigration process at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Hontiveros noted that the visa upon arrival and other immigration processes have also been abused.
She surmised this could have also happened in the case of Chinese students in Cagayan.
Hontiveros also rejected the claim of Tuguegarao Mayor Maila Rosario Ting Que who earlier said not allowing the presence of the Chinese students “amount to racial discrimination and racial profiling.”
Hontiveros however dismissed the mayor’s claims as “mere propaganda and lies coming from China.”
The senator meanwhile also said that on the matter of national security, lawmakers are now looking at “the involvement ng the People’s Republic of China in Cagayan which also has an EDCA site.”
“This is out of the ordinary so there is a need to investigate,” Hontiveros said.
