Sombero to tell all in Senate probe on P50-M bribery scandal
Wally Sombero arrives at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE/PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
Former police colonel Wenceslao “Wally” Sombero on Tuesday denied corruption allegations and vowed to testify before the Senate.
He arrived in Manila from Canada on Tuesday after the Senate blue ribbon committee threatened to cite him for contempt for not attending past hearings.
“Sa ngayon wala pa kaming pinaguusapan na immunity kasi wala akong nakikita na malaking kaso, ang sabi – corruption, bribery, walang ganun. Kinlear na ako ni Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II), there is no corruption, only perception,” Sombero said in an ambush interview.
(For now, we have not talked about immunity because I don’t see a major case, what they say–corruption, bribery, there’s no such thing. Secretary Aguirre has already cleared me, there is no corruption, only perception.)
He avoided other questions, and said, “hindi nagsimula sa COD (City of Dreams) ang extortion, doon sa Senado niyo na lang malalaman.”
(The extortion did not start in COD, you will find out at the Senate.)
READ: Wally Sombero back in PH, clears Aguirre
In a meeting in November last year, Sombero introduced himself as the representative of online gaming tycoon Jack Lam to Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.
It was Sombero who also met with former immigration officials Al Argosino and Michael Robles where P50 million changed hands. He pocketed P2 million but eventually turned it over to authorities early this year.
Sombero said that he is ready to face the Senate on Thursday, February 16, and is ready to tell all, but will invoke his right against self-incrimination.
“I will just be choosing to answer some questions that will not incriminate me, I will invoke my right,” Sombero said. CDG/rga
