MANILA - Some 800 undocumented Chinese workers escaped from Jack Lam's casino in Pampanga before the November 24 raid that apprehended 1,316 illegal employees there, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said Monday.

"Ang tingin ko po, mga 800 ang nakatakas. Punong-puno ang mga coffee shops, mga McDonald's, mga hotel sa Clark. Punong-puno ng mga Chinese," Aguirre said at a Senate hearing into Lam's alleged bribery attempt to free his arrested workers.

(I think around 800 workers escaped. The coffee shops, McDonald's fast food chains and hotel hotels in clark were all full of Chinese workers.)

Aguirre said dozens of Lam's workers also escaped after the raid. "Noong [November] 25, 26 may tumatakas na," he said.

Bureau of Immigration intelligence chief Charles Calima confirmed Aguirre's claim, adding that the Justice Secretary had expected to apprehend as many as 4,000 workers during the raid.

"Iyung sinasabi po ng ating Secretary of Justice na nakatakas na 800, hindi po ito iyung mga nahuli," Calima said.

"Secretary Aguirre was expecting, in fact, from 2,000 to 4,000 foreigners na mahuhuli. Pero iyung actual operation po, ang nahuli lang namin ay 1,316."

(The 800 workers Secretary Aguirre is referring to were not among those arrested. Secretary Aguirre was expecting, in fact, that 2,000 to 4,000 foreigners will be arrested. Only 1,316 were apprehended during the actual operation.)

Calima said they have no formal report explaining why the 800 workers were able to save themselves from the raid.

Aguirre also mentioned that he ordered the raid sometime last September after receiving an anonymous letter reporting various illegal activities at Lam's casino.

Former BI deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles are accused of extorting P50 million from Lam in exchange for the release of his arrested workers.

Monday's Senate hearing tackles the allegations against Argosino and Robles, who have admitted to accepting P50 million from Lam's representative, Wally Sombero, as part of a supposed probe into the corruption inside BI.