Senators skeptical of ex-BI officials
The Philippines government contends that half of the 1,316 illegal Chinese workers rounded up by the Bureau of Immigration last year have escaped.
According to local media, 800 of the undocumented workers dodged BI officials after the November 24 raid at Jack Lam’s Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark, Pampanga.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II made the statement at a Senate hearing on a bribery case that purportedly involved BI officials. The raid was conducted by the BI and members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force, reported the GMA Network.
A Senate blue-ribbon committee is investigating the bribery allegations in which two former Immigration Deputy commissioners, Al Argosino and Michael Robles, were accused of extorting P50 million (US$1 million) from Lam in exchange for the workers’ release.
Lam, a Macau-based junket operator, left the country after the raid and has not been seen publicly since, though he reportedly met with officials in Macau to discuss the scandal.
Argosino and Robles admitted receiving five paper bags containing a total of P50 million from a Lam associate. They say they accepted the money as part of their investigation. Macau Business reports that senators doubt the claims, in part because the “evidence” was kept in the commissioners’ homes.
Lam, founder of the Jimei Group reportedly owes the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. about P13.9 billion (US$279 million) in debts, according to Philippine media reports.
