BI chief: Argosino, Robles should have immediately reported bribe try

Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said Thursday dismissed BI associate commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles should have immediately informed him when the camp of Chinese businessman Jack Lam allegedly tried to bribe them over the case of undocumented Chinese workers at Fontana. 

Argosino and Robles admitted to receiving P50 million from Lam in exchange for the release of 1,316 Chinese workers arrested last November 24 at Lam-owned Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Pampanga. 

The former BI officials claimed that they took the money from Lam's associate, retired police official Wenceslao "Wally" Sombero, as part of their continuing probe on Lam's alleged human trafficking activities, but they were allegedly framed up.

During the resumption of the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the bribery mess, Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV asked Morente what Argosino should have done when Sombero gave them the money last November 27. 

In response, Morente said: "That's corruption of public official. They should report it."

Morente also said he did not give the former BI officials the authority to probe Lam.

Argosino and Robles did not immediately report the incident and turned over P30 million of the P50 million to the Department of Justice (DOJ) only after the extortion issue was reported in the media last December. 

Argosino said he declined to tell Morente about the exchange of money because the BI chief and then-BI intelligence chief Charles Calima Jr. were "mistahs" or classmates at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). 

"Morente and Calima are mistah. I don't want my case build up to be unnecessarily leaked because of (their) bonding in PMA," Argosino said. 

Calima said he received the P18 million as part of his counter-intelligence work against Argosino and Robles, who claimed they gave the money after Calima told them in a meeting that he knew what happened in the City of Dreams where Sombero handed P50 million. — MDM, GMA News