Philippines Justice Department issues monitoring order on officials implicated in bribery scandal

With individuals implicated in the Philippines online gambling and immigration corruption scandal seemingly all pointing fingers at each other (see previous reports), the country’s Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre has issued an Immigration Lookout Order covering many of the leading figures in the matter, which is presently under investigation by the National Investigation Bureau.

The order does not restrict their movements in and out of the country, but does allow the government to monitor their flights, itineraries, and travel destinations, local media reports reveal.

Those named in the order are the two Bureau of Immigration assistant commissioners currently on leave of absence, Al Argosino and Michael Robles; former police general Wally Sombero; and suspended BI intelligence head Charles Calima, along with his assistant, former police colonel Edward Chan.

All are allegedly implicated in allegations of extorting ₱50 million from Jack Lam, a Macau-based online and junket gambling tycoon allegedly connected with unauthorised online gambling activities in the Clark Freeport (see previous reports).

Only P30 million of the money involved has since been recovered.

Signing the Lookout Order Friday, Sec. Aguirre said:

“This is to ensure that every person of interest in the on-going investigations being conducted by the Bureau of Immigration, the National Bureau of Investigation and the National Prosecution Service will be readily available to present their side of the story.”