Aguirre on being cleared in BI bribery mess: Gordon confirmed what’s true all along

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Friday thanked Senator Richard Gordon for clearing his name in the P50-million bribery scandal involving two ranking officials of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and gaming tycoon Jack Lam.

The Senate blue ribbon committee wrapped up on Thursday its two-month probe into the issue with Gordon concluding that there is no evidence linking Aguirre to the acts of former Bureau of Immigration (BI) deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles, whom the lawmaker described as “outright extortion.”

Argosino and Robles had admitted to accepting money last November 27 in exchange for the release of 1,316 illegal Chinese workers at Lam’s Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark, Pampanga. They did not immediately report the incident to Aguirre, who supervises the BI.

“I am thankful to Senator Richard Gordon for clearing my name of any involvement in this matter or in any of the issues heard before the Senate blue ribbon committee,” Aguirre said in a statement.

“My integrity is very important to me. ??Senator Gordon confirmed what is true all along, I am innocent of any irregularity in this case,” he added.

Aguirre also assured President Rodrigo Duterte and the public that he will “endeavor to keep and to preserve the trust and the confidence” reposed in him as justice secretary.

According to Gordon, Aguirre could not be faulted for meeting Lam’s camp to discuss the condition of arrested Chinese workers at a posh hotel in Taguig City on November 26, or two days after the raid on Fontana.

It was Aguirre who ordered the raid conducted by the joint elements of the BI and police Special Action Force.

“Walang masama doon. It’s a public place. They went there. They saw each other. They did not deny it,” Gordon said.

Also present at the meeting was Argosino, who along with Robles, later met with Lam’s alleged associate, retired police official Wally Sombero, at a casino hotel in Parañaque City where money exchanged hands supposedly for the immediate release of Chinese workers.

In their defense, the former BI officials said they accepted the money as part of their investigation on Lam’s alleged human trafficking activities.

Gordon said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) may look into Lam’s accountability after illegal workers were apprehended in Fontana even as he cleared the businessman of liability in the scandal.

The panel will also check the possible liability of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente and former BI intelligence chief Charles Calima Jr.

Calima was said to have received P18 million of the P50 million after learning about the meeting of the dismissed BI officials with Sombero.

The former BI intelligence chief, however, said he was doing counter-intelligence work against Argosino and Robles on orders of Morente.

Sombero also admitted to taking P2 million but said it was for the processing of release papers of the Chinese nationals. — RSJ, GMA News