Ex-BI execs ‘refused bribe, but kept the cash as evidence
DOJ chief says he rejected bribe offered by casino owner Jack Lam’s middleman
Senators on Monday expressed disbelief over claims of two ex-officials of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) that they refused the P50-million bribe from Macau-based gaming tycoon Jack Lam through his middleman, retired police senior supt. Wally Sombero Jr., but kept it anyway “as evidence.”
During the Senate inquiry into the alleged BI bribery scandal, ex-BI associate commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles admitted that they brought home paper bags which contained millions of cash but insisted that they actually “refused” the bribe.
Asked by Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chair Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon if Argosino kept the paper bags, the latter said that he only kept them as evidence.
Before the alleged bribe took place, Argosino recalled how he and Robles met Sombero in the City of Dreams Manila last Nov. 26, 2016 after the retired cop requested to discuss Lam’s case.
Lam owns an online casino called Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark, Pampanga which employs Chinese nationals who have been illegally working in the country. The workers were arrested on Nov. 24, 2016.
Argosino said he noticed Sombero had two paper bags with him and asked what they were for with an inkling it was a bribe. He and Robles later decided to keep the paper bags as part of their efforts to investigate Lam.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who was also present in the hearing, said that he was also approached by Sombero who tried to “impress him” and show him that Lam could give him “whatever he wanted.”
Lam through Sombero requested Aguirre to allow the release of the 1,316 Chinese workers and vowed to pay back accountabilities with government and secure license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). Aguirre, however, said he rejected the request.
Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said it was “hard to believe” that they just waited for Sombero to arrive instead of just leaving the paper bags in the restaurant if they truly refused the bribe.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, for her part, questioned why Argosino and Robles decided to bring the paper bags to their homes instead of in the BI headquarters.