2 ex-BI officials charged with plunder, bribery
Although the seized physical evidence was P1,000 short of the P50-million minimum threshold for plunder, two former Bureau of Immigration (BI) commissioners will face trial for the non-bailable offense.
The Office of the Ombuds- man has ordered the filing of plunder charges against Al Argosino and Michael Robles together with retired police officer Wenceslao Sombero Jr. for allegedly extorting P50 million from Macau-based gambling tycoon Jack Lam.
In a 21-page consolidated resolution signed by Ombuds- man Conchita Carpio-Morales on Oct. 26, Argosino, Robles and Sombero were ordered charged before the Sandiganbayan with plunder under Republic Act 7080 as well as direct bribery under the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
They were also ordered charged with two counts each of violation of Presidential Decree 46, which prohibits public officials from receiving gifts, presents or money from a private person on any occasion. The ombudsman said its
field investigation revealed that Argosino and Robles received a total of P50 million from Lam in a deal facilitated by Sombero, president of the Asian Gaming Service Providers Association Inc. (AGSPA).
The bribe money was allegedly in exchange for the release of 1,316 Chinese nationals working without permit at Lam’s Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark, Pampanga.
The Chinese workers were arrested by the BI on Nov. 24, 2016 for overstaying and other violations of immigration laws.
The ombudsman said that while the cash returned by Argosino and Robles to the Department of Justice (DOJ) was short of P1,000 when counted, it could not excuse them from being indicted for plunder since it was established during the investigation that they received P50 million from Lam.
Government officials and employees who amass at least P50 million in ill-gotten wealth can be charged with plunder.
Argosino and Robles only returned P49,999,000, of which P29,999,000 is in the custody of the DOJ, P18 million with the Philippine National Police and P2 million with the ombudsman.
The ombudsman said Ar- gosino and Robles failed to controvert with convincing evidence that they were given a P50-million bribe.
Argosino and Robles also failed to refute with convincing evidence the testimonies of Lam’s associates Norman Ng and Alex Yu that the P50million bribe money was given at the City of Dreams Hotel and Casino in Manila.
The ombudsman noted that Robles even admitted that “they took possession of all five bags containing the P50 million.”
The ombudsman said it was clearly established during its investigation that the P50million bribe was received by Argosino and Robles on Nov. 27 “in connivance with Sombero through a combination or series of overt or criminal acts committed on a single day.”
Meanwhile, the ombudsman also ordered the filing of graft and direct bribery cases against sacked BI intelligence chief Charles Calima Jr.
The ombudsman said Calima received P18 million from Argosino and Robles and this could be considered as his “participation” in the extortion plot, especially when he kept his silence about the acts of the two then BI commissioners.
Lam, meanwhile, was ordered charged with violation of PD 46 for giving P50 million to the BI officials.
The ombudsman gave no credence to Argosino’s and Robles’ claim that they merely took custody of the money from Lam for safekeeping and as evidence in an ongoing investigation on illegal online gambling.
The ombudsman said the two then BI commissioners’ “failure to immediately report to the proper investigating authority, or at the very least, their superiors, (DOJ) Sec. (Vitaliano) Aguirre and BI Commissioner (Jaime) Morente, that they had custody of the P50M, contradicts their professed intentions.”
Furthermore, the ombudsman said Argosino’s and Robles’ acts of giving P2 million to Sombero; keeping the remaining money with them from Nov. 27 to Dec. 8, 2016 instead of turning it over to proper authorities for safekeeping; and delivering P18 million to Calima on Dec. 9, 2016 as his share in the P50 million “are all acts of owner- ship, which showed that they treated the P50 million that they received as their own.”
As for Sombero, the ombudsman said he played an “indispensable role and representation as president of AGSPA [which] paved the way for the consummation of the transaction.”
Sombero last year turned over to the ombudsman the P2 million he admitted deducting from the P50-million payout of Lam.
Sombrero, an associate of Lam, said he handed to Argosino and Robles the gambling tycoon’s payout on Nov. 27, but admitted that he deducted P2 million from the amount to serve as processing fee for the release papers of the arrested Chinese nationals.