JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said he never allowed the alleged associate and "middleman" of Chinese gaming tycoon Jack Lam to leave the country.
In a chance interview at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday, Aguirre said he did not issue an Allow Departure Order (ADO) in reply to retired police general Wenceslao "Wally" Sombero's request to leave the country for medical intervention.
Sombero successfully left the country last January 17 amid an Immigration Lookout Order against him issued by the DOJ, as according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the name in his passport is Wenceslao and not Wally, the subject in the order.
Aguirre during the interview cited as an example the department's action to Senator Leila de Lima's request to leave the country to receive an award abroad last December. He stressed that De Lima was allowed to leave the country after the DOJ's issuance of an ADO.
Sombero, who arrived in the country from Canada also on Tuesday, February 14, is set to appear in the next Senate hearing on Thursday, February 16, regarding the alleged extortion scandal in the BI.
He is accused of offering BI's dismissed Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles P50 million in exchange for the release of Lam's undocumented Chinese workers who were arrested at his casino in Pampanga. (SunStar Philippines)
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