THE plunder charges filed against former Immigration deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles and retired police officer Wenceslao Sombero Jr. has been reraffled off to the Sandiganbayan’s Sixth Division.
The charges are in connection with the P50-million bribery scandal at the Bureau of Customs, and the reraffle on Friday came a day after the anti-graft court approved the recusal of Fourth Division chairman Alex Quiroz, who begged off from the case for being an “acquaintance” of one of the accused.
The anti-graft court’s Sixth Division is led by Associate Justices Sarah Jane Fernandez and Karl Miranda.
Sombero has sought the dismissal of his case, citing the Ombudsman’s supposed failure to cite a “main plunderer” among the respondents.
In a 19-page motion dated March 28, Sombero asked the anti-graft court to dismiss his case since the facts charged against him “do not constitute the offense of plunder.”
The Ombudsman has charged Argosino, Robles and Sombero with plunder, graft and bribery.
Argosino and Robles are accused of acquiring ill-gotten wealth worth P50 million when they conspired with Sombero, then president of the Asian Gaming Service Provider Association Inc., to work for the release of 1,316 illegal Chinese workers at the Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark, Pampanga, owned by Chinese casino mogul Jack Lam.
The Ombudsman said Argosino and Robles showed their alleged “manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence” when they conspired with Sombero for the multi-million bribe.
The Justice department had earlier dropped the plunder charges against Argosino and Robles since the money recovered from them was P1,000 short of the amount to qualify for plunder.
But the Ombudsman said Argosino and Robles were still liable under the Plunder Law despite the missing P1,000.
“It cannot excuse them from being indicted for plunder” since Robles himself admitted that “they took possession of all five bags containing the P50 million,” the Sandiganbayan said.
Lam will also face one count of violation of PD 46, a decree punishing public officials for receiving gifts from private individuals.