NATION | Sombero, “no-show” during Senate hearing

File Photo of Jack Lam

MANILA - The controversial bagman of casino tycoon Jack Lam, Wally Sombero failed to attend the second hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the alleged bribery of Lam to some Bureau of Immigration officials.

According to Sombero’s lawyer, who attended the hearing on behalf of his client, the former cop has left the country for Singapore on January 17 because he is allegedly seeking medication there.
However, Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights did not accept the lawyer’s reason for not being able to attend the said hearing. For the veteran senator, this is just an alibi of Sombero to skip on appearing before the Senate committee.
Gordon said that he will cite Sombero of contempt to force him to appear in the next succeeding hearings.

Meanwhile, former Immigration Deputy Commissioner Al Argosino bawled his eyes out as he continued to deny the bribery issue being thrown against him.

According to Argosino, his and former Deputy Commissioner Michael Robles’ meeting with Sombero at the City of Dreams was part of their investigation of finding out the real BI officials who are accepting bribe money, including former Immigration Intelligence Chief Charles Calima.

When Senator Francis Escudero questioned Argosino, the latter said that he did not ask money from Sombero and did not wait for him for hours, just so he could ask for an additional amount.

Argosino said that the CCTV footage can prove that they asked for the bill earlier because they pln of going home as soon as they receive the millions of pesos offered to them by Sombero, as part of the evidence they will use in the case they were building. - Rita Salonga/RHNews