PAOCC disowns raid on POGO hub in Manila

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) distanced itself from a raid at a suspected Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Manila and accused the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) of attempting to associate them with a "flawed" operation.

- EMMANUEL TUPAS

The PAOCC said it was not part of the operation at the Century Peak Tower at the corner of Adriatico and Sta. Monica streets on Tuesday wherein 85 people, including 69 foreigners, were rounded up.

It said the raid was spearheaded by the NCRPO and the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG).

"We were never consulted nor informed regarding this operation," it said in a statement.

Moreover, the PAOCC denied it called the raided POGO as the "mother of all POGOs" as the agency was not involved in the operation.

PAOCC's spokesman Winston John Casio told reporters in a separate message on Viber that they condemn the NCRPO’s attempts to associate the commission with a “failed” operation.

The reason why Casio called the operation a failure was the foreigners who were caught were released after the police allegedly failed to secure a legal hold on them.

Casio stressed the PAOCC would never allow such a flaw to happen as they coordinate with the Department of Justice’s Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (DOJIACAT) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

He also challenged NCRPO director Maj. Gen. Sidney Hernia to clear the PAOCC’s name from being associated with the “botched” raid.

He added they were also busy preparing for the “successful” operation on Central One, a suspected POGO hub in Bagac, Bataan which was raided on Thursday, therefore the PAOCC is nowhere near Century Peak Tower.

“On a personal note, I call on Maj. Gen. Hernia to man up and act as a true honorable cavalier,” Casio said.

The NCRPO, however, never mentioned the PAOCC took part in the operation when it issued a press release on the raid on Wednesday.

In response to Casio’s description of their operation, Hernia said the raid was focused strictly on executing cyber warrants to counter cybercriminal activities.