Former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said on Monday he plans to  sue columnist Ramon Tulfo Jr. for linking him to the “pastillas” scheme at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) where Chinese nationals have been paying immigration officers to illegally enter the Philippines.

In a statement, Aguirre denied supporting 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.

Aguirre  said he had earlier 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. (Risa) 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 (anywhere), I could face anybody for I am completely innocent of his charges,” he added.

“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.

Tulfo made the accusation at a Senate hearing on the “pastillas” scheme.

Tulfo named Allison Chiong as 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.

Tulfo  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./Stacy Ang