Ombudsman sees basis to indict BI execs Argosino, Robles

Former Deputy Immigration Commissioners Al Argosino and
Michael Robles show the millions in cash they allegedly received
from a gaming tycoon during a press conference in Manila.
INQUIRER file photo / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

The Office of the Ombudsman has found sufficient basis to charge resigned Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles with plunder and bribery cases over the attempt to extort P50 million from a gaming tycoon in November last year.

READ: 2 BI execs admit receiving P48M from Jack Lam

Argosino and Robles, the fraternity brothers of President Rodrigo Duterte, were accused of demanding the pay-off from Macau-based businessman Jack Lam in exchange for the release of 1,316 Chinese nationals who worked for him without the proper visas.

READ: Duterte: No way frat brothers Argosino, Robles will be reinstated to BI

The Ombudsman’s order that was made public on Friday came despite the worry of some senators that the loss of a measly P1,000 from the recovered dirty money would prevent the case from reaching the P50-million threshold required for a plunder conviction.

The resolution stated that while the amount surrendered by Argosino and Robles to the Department of Justice came slightly short, it “cannot excuse them from being indicted for plunder.”

This was because they still failed to rebut the claim of Lam’s business associates, Norman Ng and Alex Yu, who said the BI officials really received P50 million from Lam at the City of Dreams on Nov. 27, 2016.

Robles himself admitted that “they took possession of all five bags containing the P50M.”

The Ombudsman also did not give credence to their claim that the two former BI officials merely took custody of the money for safekeeping and to be used as evidence in an investigation on illegal online gambling.

The resolution noted that Argosino and Robles even gave P2 million to alleged middleman Wenceslao Sombero Jr., and kept the remaining money from Nov. 27 to Dec. 8 instead of turning it over to the proper authorities.

“Their failure to immediately report to the proper investigating authority, or at the very least, their superiors, (DOJ) Sec. (Vitaliano) Aguirre and Commissioner (Jaime) Morente, that they had custody of the P50M, contradicts their professed intentions,” the Ombudsman said.

The commissioners even gave an P18-million cut to immigration intelligence chief Charles Calima on Dec. 9, which the Ombudsman considered to be “all acts of ownership, which showed that they treated the P50M that they received as their own.”

For the Ombudsman, Argosino and Robles used their official functions to commit the crimes with Sombero acting as a conspirator.

The antigraft body found Sombero’s role to be crucial to the scheme since his actions in his capacity as president of the Asian Gaming Service Providers Association, Inc., paved the way for the transaction.

Meanwhile, Calima was held liable for taking part in the extortion scheme allegedly in exchange for keeping his silence.

Argosino and Robles would face one count each of the nonbailable offense of plunder, as well as direct bribery and violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, for causing undue injury to the government.

They would also face two counts of violating President Decree No. 46, which prohibits government employees from receiving gifts.

Despite having filed one of the complaints against the BI officials before the Ombudsman in December, Sombero would still face one count each of plunder, direct bribery and graft, and two counts of violating PD 46.

The Ombudsman likewise found probable cause to charge with one count of direct bribery and graft.

As the source of the bribe money, Lam would be charged with one count of violating PD 46 for sending the gift to Argosino and Robles.

Controversy erupted as the exchange was caught on closed-circuit television. /jpv