(Eagle News) — The Sandiganbayan has denied former policeman Wally Sombero’s bid for the dismissal of the plunder charges filed against him in connection with the P50-million bribery scandal at the Bureau of Immigration.
The sixth division dismissed the plea of Sombero, the alleged middleman of Chinese businessman Jack Lam, for lack of merit.
In junking Sombero’s plea, the anti-graft court said the prosecution had established that Sombero’s act of delivering P50 million–P20 million around 2 a.m. and P30 million at 5:45 a.m.– to then-immigration commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles at the City of Dreams Manila in 2016 constituted two separate instances.
The money was allegedly in exchange for the release of Chinese workers employed by Lam who were nabbed by immigration authorities for violation of immigration laws.
“Applying the ruling in the aforecited case, each instance of receiving or collecting a sum of money constitutes a separate act. Hence, the amended information in the case at bar alleges the commission of acts in series,” the Sandiganbayan said.
Argosino, Robles, and Sombero are facing cases for plunder, graft, direct bribery, and violation of Presidential Decree No. 46 in connection with the incident.