Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, General Rodolfo Azurin Jr. revealed Friday, Sept. 16, that the police organization had been told not to meddle with matters concerning Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO).
Azurin said that the PNP, under his leadership, continues to address the sudden increase in POGO-related crimes such as kidnappings even though there was a previous “hands-off” order to the police organization when it comes to POGO matters.
“In the past po, ang PNP ay nabigyan ng hands-off na directive na huwag ho makikialam
ang ating kapulisan as far as POGO is concerned (In the past, the PNP was given a hands-off directive to avoid meddling as far as POGO is concerned),” Azurin said in a DZRH radio interview.
The PNP Chief could not recall who or when the directive was given, although he said they were already doing a backtracking.
Now, he said the PNP has started coordinating with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Bureau of Immigration (BI) to solve the spate of POGO-related crimes in the country.
Related to this, Four Chinese and a Filipino cohort who pretended to be human resource officers of a POGO company were arrested by the PNP – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) on Thursday, Sept. 15, after they allegedly abducted a Chinese girl in a posh condominium building in Pasay City.
Police Brig. Ronald Lee, acting director of PNP-CIDG, identified the suspects as Yap Tiong Ee, 37; Li Wei Xiong, 40; Li Xing, 38; Chui Qun, 28; and Ernesto Cruz, 42, driver of the Chinese suspects.
Meanwhile, the police rescued the victim, 28-year-old Amy Dan Li, a POGO staff.
According to CIDG, Li was abducted by the suspects last Wednesday, Sept. 14, at the Shore Residence Tower in Pasay City.
The victim’s friend, Jerry Go, sought help from the police after the suspects demanded P2 million in exchange for Li’s release. The abductors told Go to deliver the money to them at Sea Residences in Pasay City.
The CIDG said that the suspects pretended to serve as human relations officer of a legitimate POGO company. Then, they enticed the suspect to apply to the firm through their help and told her she will be subjected to a swab test. Instead of landing a job, the victim was abducted by the suspects and demanded ransom money from her family.
The CIDG immediately hatched an entrapment operation which resulted in the arrest of Chui and Cruz at Sea Residences Sunrise Drive around 4 p.m. The victim, on the other hand, was found by the police inside a grey Hi-Ace van used by the suspects.
The CIDG conducted a follow-up operation around 7 p.m. after they learned that the money was supposed to be delivered in a POGO office at the Philippine International Terminal Exchange (PITX) in Paranaque City.
There, the police arrested the three other suspects after they were positively identified by the victim as among those who kidnapped her, the CIDG noted.
“POGO is without question one of the major concerns of the PNP at the moment with regard to the recent killings and abductions that involved Chinese nationals. The PNP’s primary investigative unit, the CIDG, is continuing to keep a close eye on these foreigners who are the cause of the country’s rising crime rate,” Lee said.