Two former immigration officials indicted for plunder
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has ordered the filing of plunder charges against former Bureau of Immigration (BI) deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles, and Asian Gaming Service Providers Association, Inc. (AGSPA) presi-
dent Wenceslao Sombero Jr. for their extortion attempt against Chinese nationals.
Morales said that Argosino, Robles, and Sombero violated Republic Act (RA) 7080, the Act defining and penalizing plunder, for allegedly extorting 150 million from 1,316 arrested Chinese nationals who were violating Philippine immigration laws.
Ombudsman investigators said it was Sombero who facilitated the deal for Argosino and Robles, who pocketed 150 million from Chinese gaming tycoon Jack Lam on November 27, 2016.
The three of them will face one count each not only for plunder, but also for direct bribery and a violation of Section 3(e) of RA 3019 or the AntiGraft and Corrupt Practices Act. They will also be charged with two counts of violation of P.D. 46, the law that punishes government official who receive, and private individuals who give gifts on any occasion.
Meanwhile, sacked BI intelligence chief Charles Calima Jr. will be charged with one count of direct bribery and another count of graft. Lam, on the other hand, will be slapped with a violation of P.D. 46 for giving 150 million.
“While the amount returned by Argosino to the Department of Justice (DOJ) lacks 11,000, it cannot excuse them from being indicted for plunder” since they failed to thwart the claims made by Lam's business associates, Norman Ng and Alex Yu, that they received the money at the City of Dreams in Manila, the Ombudsman resolution stated.
Robles also said “they took possession of all five bags containing the 150 million.”
Argosino and Robles tried to argue that they merely took the money for safekeeping, since they plan to use it as evidence in an ongoing investigation against illegal online gambling.
But the Ombudsman does not buy their excuse, since “their failure to immediately report to the proper investigating authority, or at the very least, their superiors – (DOJ) Secretary (Vitaliano) Aguirre and Commissioner (Jaime) Morente, that they had custody of the 150 million, contradicts their professed intentions.”
The fact that they gave 12 million to Sombero and hid the money from November 27 to December 8, 2016 instead of turning it over to proper authorities for safekeeping raises suspicion.
They even negotiated with Calima and delivered 118 million to him on December 9, 2018, as part of his share in the money. For Morales, Argosino and Robles treated the money as if it were their own.
Morales said it was clear Argosino and Robles used their official functions as deputy commissioners to commit the crimes, while Sombero acted as their middle man.