DIRTY MONEY Bundles of cash, which they themselves said totaled P50 million, are being handled by former Immigration Associate Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles. —FILE PHOTO
The Office of the Ombudsman has found sufficient basis to file plunder and bribery charges against resigned Bureau of Immigration (BI) Associate Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles over the alleged attempt to extort P50 million from a gaming tycoon in November last year.
Argosino and Robles, fraternity brothers of President Duterte, were accused of demanding the payoff from Macau-based businessman Jack Lam in exchange for the release of 1,316 detained Chinese nationals who worked for him without proper visas.
The Ombudsman’s order, made public on Friday, came despite concerns from 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 (DOJ) came slightly short, it “cannot excuse them from being indicted for plunder.”
This was because they still failed to rebut the statement of Lam’s business associates, Norman Ng and Alex Yu, who claimed the BI officials received P50 million from Lam at City of Dreams hotel and casino complex on Nov. 27, 2016.
Robles himself admitted that “they took possession of all five bags containing the P50 million.”
The Ombudsman also did not give credence to their claim that they merely took custody of the money for safekeeping, to be used later as evidence in an investigation on illegal online gambling.
The Ombudsman resolution was served on the respondents on Friday.
It 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) Secretary (Vitaliano) Aguirre and Commissioner (Jaime) Morente, that they had custody of the P50 million, contradicts their professed intentions,” the Ombudsman said.
P18-million cut
The former associate commissioners allegedly gave an P18-million cut to BI intelligence chief Charles Calima on Dec. 9, which the Ombudsman considered to be “all acts of ownership, which showed that they treated the P50 million that they received as their own.”
According to 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 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 also face two counts of violating Presidential Decree No. 46, which prohibits government employees from receiving gifts.
Probable cause
Despite filing one of the complaints against the BI officials before the Ombudsman in December, Sombero still faces one count each of plunder, direct bribery and graft, and two counts of violating PD 46.
The Ombudsman likewise found probable cause to charge Sombero 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.
The controversy erupted after Robles and Argosino were caught on closed-circuit television receiving five paper bags purportedly containing P10 million each in the hotel-casino.