DAVAO CITY鈥擯resident Duterte said on Saturday he has ordered the sequestration of the assets of Jack Lam to recover the alleged unpaid taxes of the Macau gambling tycoon.
Speaking to reporters after he arrived from state visits to Singapore and Cambodia, Mr. Duterte said that according to Internal Revenue Commissioner Cesar Dulay, 鈥渨e have been cheated on for so long鈥� by Lam.
Mr. Duterte said that since 鈥渨e have not been able to determine how much we lost鈥� I am sequestering, ordering the sequestering of his properties and maybe I can get as much as I want.鈥�
Lam allegedly operated an online gaming facility at Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark, Pampanga, where 1,316 illegal Chinese workers were arrested last month.
鈥淵ou know they were playing here. [For bets collected here], they pay taxes,聽 but for the [bets placed] outside of the Philippines, that is something else,鈥� Mr. Duterte said.
鈥淪o, he was enjoying paying one percent [in tax]? You鈥檙e lucky while the others are paying 10 percent.鈥� the President said.
Mr. Duterte said Lam fled the Philippines three days before he had ordered Lam鈥檚 arrest.
He admitted that he got 鈥減issed off鈥� with Lam because the gambling tycoon bragged about bribing people in the government, 鈥渁s if everybody is [in his] pocket.鈥�
鈥淪o I called the [National Bureau of Investigation] and I said,聽 鈥楢rrest him because he was into corruption. Arrest him and detain him in the most stinky prison,鈥欌�� he said.
But,聽 the NBI informed the President that聽 Lam could not be arrested because no case had been filed against him.
He said he told the NBI, 鈥淣ever mind. We will find a case [to file].鈥�
Duterte also warned corrupt officials and businessmen, saying he was serious in giving Filipinos 鈥渁 respite from corruption.鈥�
鈥淚f you are into corruption and giving money, I will not wait for a case to be filed,鈥� he said. 鈥淒o not corrupt people. If you are into corruption, go out of business for a while. Anyway, I will be here for six years only.鈥�
He urged businessmen who had been victims of extortion to help him cleanse the bureaucracy.
鈥淚f you have proof that you are bribing anybody or if anyone in government is asking money from you, tell me,鈥� he said.
Regarding the alleged extortion of money from Lam, Duterte said he ordered the dismissal of associate immigration commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles, his law school fraternity brothers, along with acting immigration intelligence chief Charles Calima.
He absolved Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente of any involvement in the extortion and said there was 鈥渘ot one in a million鈥� chance that the sacked immigration officials would be reinstated. 鈥擜LLAN NAWAL