2 BI execs in Lam extort try go on leave

MANILA, Philippines - Bureau of Immigration (BI) deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Mike Robles yesterday went on leave after they were implicated in the alleged P50-million extortion on online gaming operator Jack Lam for the release of Chinese workers in illegal casino operations in Clark Freeport, Pampanga.

Argosino and Robles both submitted to Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II their letter signifying a 30-day leave of absence to pave the way for an investigation on the allegation made in a newspaper column.

“We hope that (this) will allow your office or that of your authorized representatives the free hand to conduct any investigation against us that you may deem fit,” the two said in their joint letter.

Argosino and Robles are reportedly President Duterte’s brothers in Lex Taleonis fraternity.

They allegedly extorted P50 million from Lam, the Chinese operator of online gaming operations at Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark Freeport. 

The P50 million was supposed to facilitate the release of 600 out of 1,316 illegal Chinese employees of Fontana, reports added.

Argosino and Robles, both appointed by Duterte to the bureau last August, have reiterated their support for the administration’s campaign against graft and corruption and clarified that their decision to take a leave is in “the interest of justice, rule of law and belief in the truth.”

Before they filed leave, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente yesterday ordered Argosino and Robles to explain their side on the media report that they extorted money from Lam for the release of Chinese nationals earlier apprehended by authorities in Lam’s online gaming casino.

Lam was ordered arrested by Duterte for economic sabotage but he left the country before the order came out.

Aguirre on Sunday said he has directed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a probe of the allegations that the Chinese nationals were able to work without visas and permits from the BI in return for a hefty sum of money.

Both the NBI and BI are under the Department of Justice (DOJ).   

Morente gave Argosino and Robles 24 hours to explain after they were linked to the alleged P50-million extortion.

In a statement, Morente directed BI Intelligence Division chief Charles Calima Jr. to also give an explanation regarding the issue.

Duterte said he would have punched Lam if he did not slip out of the country.

Duterte mentioned Lam in his speech at the Belenismo event in Tarlac on Sunday night after talking about his grandfather who was Chinese.

“My grandmother is a Moro, Maranao. The father of my mother is Chinese, Lam… Yang gagong yan, pinaaresto ko (I had that fool arrested),” the President said.

“Buti’t nakaalis siya, talagang bigwasan ko siya (Good for him that he left. Otherwise, I would have punched him),” he added.

“He talks as if most of the officials are in his pocket.”

Duterte previously said that he wanted Lam arrested for bribery and economic sabotage.

“He only pays one percent, but the rest of the guys there are paying 10 percent,” the President said last week, apparently referring to gross gaming revenues.

“Because he has offered to come back, pay his tax, liabilities whatever it is, I said, on the condition that he lets go of original contract that lets him enjoy only one percent. It should be uniform to all. Just pay taxes, don’t bribe anybody,” he said.

Lam had reportedly tried to bribe Aguirre to secure the release of 1,316 undocumented Chinese nationals working for him.

Lam’s camp has denied the allegation.

The two BI officials allegedly received the bribe from retired police official Wally Sombero in exchange for the release of 600 of the Chinese nationals who did not have employment visas.

Sombero is now in the custody of the NBI.

Over the weekend, Aguirre ordered the NBI to probe the alleged payoffs in the BI.

NBI sources said Sombero has confirmed that Robles and Argosino are the officials who extorted P50 million and demanded more from Lam.

Sombero executed his sworn statement after the NBI allowed his request for protective custody on Dec. 8. He stayed in the bureau until he and his lawyer finished his affidavit.

On Dec. 7, the DOJ ordered the NBI, through lawyer Vicente de Guzman III, to probe the alleged extortion involving officials and personnel of the BI, DOJ-Office of Cybercrime and the Philippine National Police.

The agencies worked on closing Lam’s Jimei Group casino at the Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark Freeport, Pampanga and on the arrest of over 1,300 Chinese illegal immigrants who worked in Lam’s casino, both in late November. – With Evelyn Macairan, Ghio Ong, Christina Mendez, Alexis Romero