Bribery scandal involving Immigration officials

800 Chinese workers escaped from Lam’s Fontana - Philippines's Aguirre

2017-01-24
Reading time 48 seg
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Monday that more than half of the 1,316 undocumented Chinese workers apprehended by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in November 24 last year managed to escape from Jack Lam's Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark, Pampanga.

Aguirre made the statements during the Senate Blue-Ribbon Committee hearing on the bribery scandal involving BI officials. He did not say what happened to those who escaped following the raid, which was conducted by the BI and members of the Philippine National Police's Special Action Force.

Asked by panel chairman Senator Richard Gordon to confirm Aguirre's claim, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said: "All those arrested were... on site."

The Senate investigation revolves around dismissed Immigration Deputy Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles, who were accused of extorting P50 million from Lam, a Macau-based gaming tycoon, in exchange for the release of Chinese workers.

Argosino and Robles have admitted to receiving five paper bags allegedly containing P10 million each, or a total of P50 million, from Lam’s middleman, retired police official Wally Sombero, at a hotel in Parañaque City.

They claimed that they intended to use the money as evidence of corruption inside the BI. —ALG, GMA News

Leave your comment
Subscribe to our newsletter
Enter your email to receive the latest news
By entering your email address, you agree to Yogonet's Terms of use and Privacy Policies. You understand Yogonet may use your address to send updates and marketing emails. Use the Unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
Unsubscribe
EVENTS CALENDAR