Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — After former Chief Supt. Wally Sombero skipped three Senate hearings on the Immigration Bureau’s multi-million corruption scandal, Senator Richard Gordon says he has had enough.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, on Thursday threatened to put Sombero in jail the moment he sets foot in the country.
“If he comes back here, we will exert all effort na dalin siya sa Muntinlupa at ikulong siya dun (We will exert all effort to bring him to Muntinlupa and have him imprisoned),” Gordon said.
He also said the Senate will recommend the revocation of Sombero’s passport to the Foreign Affairs Department “until he comes out within a certain amount of time.”
“He cannot be sick forever,” Gordon said.
Sombero is the associate of gambling tycoon Jack Lam, who allegedly bribed former Immigration deputy commissioners Michael Robles and Al Argosino with P50 million. The bribe was supposedly in exchange for the release of over 1,300 undocumented Chinese workers who were arrested from Lam’s casino in Clark, Pampanga on November 24.
BI under fire for letting Sombero go
Sombero should have not been able to leave the country because he has been under the Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) since December 16.
Gordon reprimanded Bureau of Immigration officials for allowing Sombero’s departure on January 17.
“Kung nakalusot yan, pinalusot,” Gordon told BI Commissioner Jaime Morente. “We’re beginning to be the laughing stock of the whole world, nakakapasok ang mga workers, nakakalabas ang mga prominenteng tao (illegal workers come in, prominent people are allowed to go).”
According to BI port operations division chief Red Mariñas, the immigration officer in the counter was alarmed upon seeing Sombero about to leave the country. She alerted the supervisor, who later allowed Sombero to leave.
It’s because Sombero presented a passport under the name “Wenceslao Sombero” and not “Wally Sombero” as written in the ILBO, the supervisor told Mariñas.
It took the immigration officers on duty four hours before informing Morente that Sombero has left the country.
Gordon said he suspects the supervisor was bribed and she should be fired. He also wants her prosecuted.
The supervisor has been working under the BI for around two decades, Mariñas said.
Senator Leila De Lima, who is also under an ILBO over drug-related charges, said it’s not easy to pass airport security when you are supposedly being monitored.
“When I arrived at the airport, several Immigration officers were waiting for me, they asked immediately for my travel authority,” De Lima said.
She said it should also be probed why the ILBO does not contain Sombero’s full name, Wenceslao.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre admitted he was “very disappointed” upon learning that Sombero was able to flee from the country under his watch. He said the Justice Department will continue investigating the matter and hold erring officers accountable.
Sombero: I was supposed to return Feb 9
Earlier during Thursday’s hearing, De Lima moved to cite Sombero in contempt for failing to show up in legislative hearings despite being summoned.
Although Gordon said he wanted to accept De Lima’s motion, he withheld it citing “humanitarian reasons,” because Sombero was claiming he’s sick. He asked Sombero’s lawyer to provide a medical certificate.
Sombero, in a letter read by his lawyer, said he boarded a flight back to the Philippines from Vancouver on February 9, but airport authorities barred him from doing so because of “sweating and shortness of breath.” He also attached in the letter a copy of his boarding pass and photos of him being tended by medics.
Gordon said Sombero could even appear before the hearing through FaceTime, an online video calling application, just so move the inquiry forward.
Gordon withheld the presentation of three new witnesses on Thursday, saying he does not want Sombero to be able to monitor their testimonies and prepare his answers.
