MANILA, Philippines- Itinatwa ng Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) ang anti-POGO police operation sa Century Peak Tower sa Ermita, Manila noong Oct. 29, sabay sabing ang naturang operasyon ay “flawed” dahil napaulat na pinalaya ang foreign suspects.
Pinangunahan ng Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP ACG) ang operasyon sa 40-story Century Peak Tower, kung saan ang mga empleyado umano’y nagtratrabaho sa mga pinasarang Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hubs.
Sinasabing inabisuhan si Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna ukol sa naturang operasyon “as the operations got underway” subalit hindi naman kinonsulta ang PAOCC ukol dito.
“The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission was not part of the raid that was spearheaded by the PNP NCRPO (National Capital Region Police Office) and the PNP ACG. We were never consulted nor informed regarding this operation. We never release any foreign nationals caught in POGOs,” ang nakasaad sa kalatas ng PAOCC, ipinalabas araw ng Sabado, Nobyembre 2.
“Please do not associate PAOCC with flawed operations,” dagdag ng PAOCC.
Binigyang-diin ng PAOCC na ang lahat ng operasyon nito ay ‘properly coordinated’ sa Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking ng Department of Justice (DoJ) at Bureau of Immigration.
“Moreover, we never said that the said raided POGO is the mother of all POGOs. As aforementioned that we had nothing to do with this operation, thus we will not release any statement regarding its investigation,” ang sinabi pa ng PAOCC.
Sa ulat, sinalakay ang Century Peak Tower dalawang araw bago pa ang PAOCC, sa pangunguna ni Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz, at PNP Special Action Force and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group ay sinalakay ang Central One Bataan PH, Inc. sa CentroPark sa Bagac, Bataan noong Oct. 31 sa bisa ng search warrant na ipinalabas ng Malolos, Bulacan court.
Sinabi ni PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio na nakakuha ang Central One ng lisensya para mag-function bilang business process outsourcing firm subalit malinaw sa mga nakalap na ebidensiya na ito’y maaaring iugnay sa illegal online gambling at cryptocurrency.
Sinabi ni Lacuna na kailangan nang simulan ng Century Peak Tower hub na itigil ang kanilang operasyon sa lungsod.
“They can tell the owners of the buildings and houses they occupy that they are ending their rent or lease agreements. They can start serving notices to their employees that their employment contracts will end very soon,” ang sinabi ni Lacuna.
Aniya, maaaring tumulong ang Manila’s Public Employment Service Office sa mga na-displace na mga Pilipino na makahanap ng bagong trabaho.
Giit nito, suportado niya ang direktiba ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. na dapat at ganap na isara lahat ang POGOs bago pa sumapit ang Dec. 31 ngayong taon.
Sinabi ni Casio, batay sa intelligence reports, 111 illegal POGO hubs ang hindi pa rin tumitigil ng kanilang operasyon. Kris Jose
