RAID. Members of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group raid five villas inside the Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Mabalacat City, Pampanga on June 27, 2024. The operation stemmed from information that several foreigners, particularly Chinese nationals, who escaped from the raid at the Lucky South 99 Corporation are hiding at the resort. (Photo courtesy of CIDG)
MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday said it would provide security assistance to personnel and officials of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) who receive threats to their lives.
"We are in close coordination sa (with) PAOCC at kung meron man nakakatanggap ay mas mabuti na makuhanan natin ito ng statement para kung may mga identified sila na source nitong mga grave threats ay mai-dokumento at makapag file tayo ng karampatang kaso (and if they receive any, it would be better for them to give us their statements so that if they have identified the source of these grave threats, we would be able to documents these and we can file the necessary charges)," PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo told a press conference at Camp Crame.
On Sunday, PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio said some of their personnel received death threats after their crackdown on illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
He said the PAOCC is mainly composed of civilian personnel who are merely analysts and are not armed during raids.
On June 5, authorities raided Lucky South 99 in Porac, which resulted in the arrest of at least 186 foreign and Filipino workers.
On March 13, the agency also raided the Zun Yuan Technology Inc. in Bamban, Tarlac which is allegedly linked to suspended mayor Alice Guo.
Meanwhile, Fajardo said they respect the opinion of former President Rodrigo Duterte who said some police officers are engaged in illegal activities in POGO facilities.
She, however, said the PNP will not tolerate rogues among its ranks.
"Makikiusap tayo na kung merong mga individual or grupo or taong meron information relative sa posibleng involvement ng ilang mga pulis natin ay makipag tulungan kayo sa PNP (We are also calling on individuals or groups who have information relative to the possible involvement of our police officers to cooperate with the PNP," she said.
Name kingpins
Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian urged Guo to identify the so-called kingpins of illegal POGOs during the next Senate hearing on July 10.
"Guo can play a crucial role in exposing the truth and ensuring that those involved are held accountable," Gatchalian said in a news release.
He said Guo can reveal everything she knows about the POGO operations both in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga to reduce her culpability.
Senator Risa Hontiveros also said POGO politics really exists in the country, urging concerned authorities to seriously look into the issue.
“The web it has cast over what you very correctly call POGO politics, its plans been laid over many years, This POGO and POGO politics web is also wide in the sense,” she said in a media interview.
Guo is serving a six-month suspension without pay for the remainder of the year and was likewise charged with non-bailable qualified human trafficking by the PAOCC following a raid at a Bamban POGO hub where she reportedly has links. (Leonel Abasola/PNA)
