2 ex-BI execs post bail for graft case at Sandiganbayan

Former Bureau of Immigration Commissioners Michael Robles and Al Argosino. INQUIRER.net file photo / TETCH TORRES TUPAS

Former Bureau of Immigration (BI) Deputy Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles posted bail on Tuesday before the Sandiganbayan for their graft case in connection with the bribery scandal at a casino.

Argosino and Robles posted a bail worth P60,000 each at the Sandiganbayan 6th Division for their provisional liberty.

The two sacked BI commissioners were charged for violation of the anti-graft law after they allegedly tried to extort worth P50 million from gaming tycoon Jack Lam in exchange for the release of 1,316 Chinese nationals.

The Chinese nationals were arrested in 2016 for working in the Philippines without working visas and other proper permit.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed a case for violation of the Anti-Graft Law against the two former BI officials on March 23, 2018.

The two former BI officials admitted receiving P50 million from Lam at the City of Dreams on Nov. 27, 2016, through an alleged middleman Wenceslao Sombero Jr.

In their defense the two claimed the money will be used as evidence in a bribery case against Lam.

Argoniso and Robles are also facing a case for plunder before the Sandiganbayan but the court has yet to rule on the probable cause. With a report from Rohanisa Abbas / Radyo Inquirer / jpv

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