SENATOR Leila de Lima has called for a Senate inquiry into the alleged bribery attempt by Chinese businessman Jack Lam to some immigration officials in exchange for the release of some of the 1,316 Chinese workers at his casino in Pampanga.
De Lima filed Senate Resolution No. 258 urging the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to inquire in aid of legislation into the circumstances and facts surrounding the bribery scandal that has plagued the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
The BI officials were reported to have received five paper bags allegedly containing P10 million each, or a total of P50 million, from Lam’s middleman, former police officer Wally Sombero, at the City of Dreams hotel and casino in Paranaque City, which activity was caught on CCTV. Aguirre himself admitted that he was offered the amount of P100 million a month by Chinese gambling magnate Jack Lam in exchange for the protection by Aguirre of his gambling interests in the Philippines.
“If indeed Lam, through his middleman Wally Sombero, attempted to bribe Aguirre, why didn’t the latter effect right then and there, a warrantless arrest of Sombero, the latter being in flagrante delicto, and thereafter promptly move to prevent Lam’s departure or escape from the country?,” she said.
“Simply put, there are too many nagging questions that necessitate a deeper independent probe by the Senate. We cannot just entrust such investigation to DOJ/NBI which are both under Aguirre’s control. It’s like entrusting a wolf to guard the sheep,” she added.
Further to Secretary Aguirre’s categorical admission that he was offered P100 million a month, the Senator from Bicol said: “This seeming lackluster response of the Justice Secretary on a bribery attempt on his person leaves much to be desired in terms of the need for the government to urgently take jurisdiction over the person of Jack Lam by effecting his arrest.”
“This failure in law enforcement and immediate prosecution of Jack Lam and his cohorts has led the public to speculate on the real story behind this incident,” she added in her resolution.
According to De Lima, Aguirre’s lukewarm action on Lam’s criminal offense is suspicious and worrisome, considering that Aguirre is the top prosecutorial officer of the government. (pr)
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