Gambling lord deportation set amid corruption charges

ANGELES City -- Chinese gambling lord Wang Bo will be deported to China next week, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) disclosed here Thursday.

Commissioner Seigfred B. Mison told mediamen the decision to have Wang sent back to China was arrived at after completion of proper documentation and as earlier requested by the Chinese Embassy because he is wanted in his own country over allegations of corruption.

“Kaya nadelay kasi may mga proper protocol tayo sinusundan,’’ Mison said during the 75th anniversary celebration of the agency which simultaneously launched BI “Service Beyond the Metro” Lakbay-Ugnayan at the Marquee Mall, here. The occasion was also graced by City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan and 3rd district Cong. Oscar Rodriguez.

Mison also denied allegations that BI officials accepted P100 million bribe money from the gambling lord in dismissing Wang’s deportation.

Wang was arrested when he arrived in the country last Feb. 9 for using a cancelled passport and due to the information that he is a fugitive in China.

He has been detained at the BI jail in Taguig City since his arrest. The Chinese embassy asked the BI’s assistance in apprehending Wang, saying he was wanted for illegal gambling and that his passport had been cancelled.

Last March, the Board of Commissioners issued a deportation order but on May 21 removed Wang’s name from the bureau’s blacklist on grounds that there was no proof that his passport had been canceled by the Chinese government.

Commissioner Mison and Associate Commissioners Gilbert Repizo and Abudulla Mangotara all signed the resolution.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has ordered an investigation into the bureau’s alleged move to dismiss the deportation order against Wang.