CENTRAL LUZON TOP COP UNDER PROBE OVER BAMBAN, PORAC POGOS —MARBIL

The regional police director of Central Luzon is under investigation following the discovery of the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hubs in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga, Philippine National Police chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil said Monday.

"Tama iyong sinasabi niyo, we are investigating din po 'yung regional director dun sa mga 'yan, sa mga reports na hindi po naaaksiyunan mabuti," Marbil said at a press briefing.

"We put accountability dun sa mga regional directors," he added.

(What you said is right, we are also investigating the regional director for reports that were not acted upon properly. We put accountability on our regional directors.)

In a statement over the weekend, Marbil warned cops they will face disciplinary actions if found to be involved in the operations of illegal POGOs.

"This policy serves as a reminder: engage in illegal activities, and you will be dealt with accordingly," he said.

Not protectors

But during Monday's press briefing, Marbil said he will not go as far as saying that policemen have been found to be "protectors" of illegal POGOs. He said concerned police officials have been relieved from their posts due to suspected lack of action.

"I don't want to say na protektor kasi wala naman po talagang protektor. We have our integrity monitoring group na nagchi-check po doon sa mga tao natin and I guess ang hinahabol natin inefficiency ng mga opisyal natin," Marbil said.

(I don't want to say protector because there is really no such thing as protector. We have our integrity monitoring group that checks on our personnel and I guess what we are after is inefficiency among our officials.)

In the POGO hub in Porac, police and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) had found items used for torture, and some devices used for cloning SIM cards and for sending out text blasts.

Meanwhile, six Chinese POGO workers from the raided POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac were found to be fugitives facing charges in their country. The Chinese had warrants of arrest for fraud, operating gambling dens and other crimes. —KBK, GMA Integrated News 

This article Central Luzon top cop under probe over Bamban, Porac POGOs —Marbil was originally published in GMA News Online.

2024-06-24T04:04:07Z dg43tfdfdgfd