If reports were true, having a former Philippine National Police (PNP) on the payroll of illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators’ (POGO) bosses is in fact alarming and reprehensible, former senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said.
Lacson, himself a former PNP chief, said this is why it is imperative that the country's intelligence and investigation agencies look deeper into the allegation and subsequently file the proper criminal complaints against him.
“Considering the extent of Guo Hua Ping, aka Alice Guo’s POGO operations and her and her group’s established influence and connections, it is not surprising anymore if rogue policemen and other government officials were receiving regular payolas and some extras for assisting in the escape of Guo as already pointed out by no less than PBBM (President Bongbong Marcos),” Lacson said in a statement on Wednesday, September 18.
“But to include a former CPNP, if intelligence reports were credible as exposed by the Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.) official is not only alarming but reprehensible,” he said.
“All that being said, let me reiterate my appeal to our intelligence and investigation agencies to leave no stone unturned to reach the logical conclusion by filing criminal charges and having all those involved convicted and given the commensurate jail terms that they deserve,” the senator stressed.
During the continuation of the Senate hearing on illegal POGOs on Tuesday,
Pagcor senior vice president Raul Villanueva tagged a former PNP chief as among the senior law enforcement officers who were allegedly on the “monthly payroll” of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo.
Villanueva, however, said they are now validating the information they got from the intelligence community.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros earlier said that Guo spent P200-million to escape the Philippines to evade the Senate’s investigation as well as the criminal charges filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against her and her alleged cohorts.
In a separate statement, Hontiveros said such allegations is “both a public order and national security concern.”
“Kung totoo nga na may dating Chief PNP na nasa payroll ni Guo Hua Ping o ng mga POGO (If it’s true that a former chief PNP is in the payroll of Guo Hua Ping or POGOs), this shows how vulnerable our law enforcers have become to POGO money,” she pointed out.
“Marami din kaming natatanggap na impormasyon galing sa iba’t ibang sources. Irerespeto natin ang ating law enforcement at intel agencies sa kanilang proseso ng pag-vet at verify ng impormasyong ito (We also receive a lot of information from different sources. We will respect our law enforcement and intel agencies in their process of vetting and verifying this information),” Hontiveros said.
Nevertheless, the head of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, said that if the report is true, such is “unacceptable.”
“Hindi katanggap-tanggap ang posibilidad na ang isang dating mataas na opisyal ng gubyerno, na may mandatong protektahan ang kapayapaan ng ating lipunan, ang naging instrumento pa pala para lumaganap ang mga krimen ng mga POGO (The possibility that a former high-ranking government official, with the mandate to protect the peace of our society, has become an instrument for the spread of crimes by POGOs is unacceptable),” she said.
“To bring back trust in our institutions, there must be accountability,” added Hontiveros.