3 Nobyembre,2024 Linggo
No to Divorce!!!
Get well soon Nanay Angelita Santiago-Lopez
No to SOGIE bill
PM for any hospital discharge problem
Happy Birthday Rosita Belmonte-Jose more birthdays to come
Happy Birthday Jo Ephraim Lopez more birthdays to come
Deepest sympathy to the family of the late Jocelyn “Jo” Lising-Abelgas
PAOCC disowns POGO hub raid in Manila
By J.Lo
“We were never consulted nor informed regarding this operation, ”Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) distanced itself from raid at suspected Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Manila and accused National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) of attempting to associate them with “flawed” operation.
PAOCC was not part of operation at 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 raid was spearheaded by NCRPO and Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG).
Moreover, PAOCC denied it called raided POGO as “mother of all POGOs” as agency was not involved in the operation.
PAOCC’s spokesman Winston John Casio told reporters in separate message on Viber that they condemn NCRPO’s attempts to associate commission with “failed” operation.
Reason why Casio called operation failure was foreigners who were caught were released after police allegedly failed to secure legal hold on them.
Casio stressed PAOCC would never allow such flaw to happen as they coordinate with Department of Justice’s Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (DOJ-IACAT) and Bureau of Immigration (BI).
He also challenged NCRPO director Maj. Gen. Sidney Hernia to clear PAOCC’s name from being associated with “botched” raid.
He stressed they were also busy preparing for the “successful” operation on Central One, suspected POGO hub in Bagac, Bataan was raided on Thursday, therefore PAOCC is nowhere near Century Peak Tower.
“On personal note, I call on Maj. Gen. Hernia to man up and act as true honorable cavalier,” Casio said.
NCRPO, however, never mentioned 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 raid was focused strictly on executing cyber warrants to counter cybercriminal activities.
He reiterated only NCRPO and PNP-ACG were units involved in the operation and not PAOCC.
“This was not human trafficking operation, therefore, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking was not involved,” he said in a message on Viber.
Hernia added discovery of foreigners at the site was incidental to operation’s primary objective. As such, BI bears no responsibility for any subsequent release of foreigners.
Foreigners caught in Manila – 34 Indonesians, 25 Chinese nationals and 10 Malaysians – were released after BI refused to take legal custody of them, ACG director Maj. Gen. Ronnie Francis Cariaga said.
“Police has arbitrary detention for them if we will have to detain them under our custody,” Cariaga said at a news briefing as he noted government offices are closed due to Undas break.
He added they requested BI to take legal custody of the foreigners for being undocumented nationals as they were not carrying passports.
“There was already a letter coming from the BI that they cannot take legal custody of these foreign nationals…we cannot do otherwise but to release these personalities,” Cariaga said.
In response, BI accused police of “withholding access to necessary information and reports” as they are yet to receive official custody of 69 foreigners.
“BI has been actively pursuing to process detainees in compliance with regulations, yet PNP has been withholding access to necessary information and reports,” said BI in statement.
The 69 foreigners should undergo an assessment by the DOJ-IACAT, said the BI.
Bureau added it “awaits necessary documentation from PNP to initiate the formal turnover process, as has been previously communicated.”
Said documentation should include “all available information related to the subjects’ identities and affidavit of arrest, detailing circumstances of apprehension.”
BI would start its investigation on the 69 foreigners and file charges for violating Philippine immigration laws once it receives all necessary documentation from police.
Following raid of scam hub, Manila city government urged executives of other scam hubs operating in the city to start closing their operations “this week.”
“POGOs need not wait to shut down in December…they can start shutting down now and in the coming weeks…they need not prolong their agony…can end their operations this week because they can,” said Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan in statement .
She referred to POGOs that have been notorious for carrying out online scams and even crimes against their employees.
She advised all POGO executives to voluntarily go to the city hall to start working on their documents to wind down their operations and tell owners of the buildings and houses they occupy that they are ending their rent or lease agreements.
They could also “start serving notices to their employees their employment contracts will end very soon,” she added.
She also vowed city government would help Filipino workers in POGOs find other jobs.
Lacuna-Pangan commended PNP-ACG, PAOCC and the Manila Police District for successfully carrying out raid.
She also echoed her support for ban on POGOs by the end of the year as declared by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.in his State of the Nation Address this year.
Meanwhile, Authority of Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) has confirmed that Central One Bataan PH Inc. is enterprise registered with the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB). They are currently operating in FAB expansion area located in Bagac. In statement, AFAB said inspections are regularly conducted on locators and registered enterprises to ensure they are compliant with the terms and conditions of the authority granted to them.
“We are aware of coverage on news media outlets that Central One has recently been subject of court-issued search warrant carried out by PAOCC… AFAB has not yet received official copies of abovementioned warrant, or any documents relating to the said incident,” authority said.
AFAB said another official statement will be issued after it has seen copies of above-mentioned documents or upon proper communication with appropriate government authorities has been made.
“We remain dedicated to upholding integrity of our regulatory framework and will ensure all necessary actions align with the investigation’s findings and legal standards,” AFAB said.
PAOCC disowns POGO hub raid in Manila
By J.Lo
“We were never consulted nor informed regarding this operation,”Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) distanced itself from raid at suspected Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Manila and accused National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) of attempting to associate them with “flawed” operation.
PAOCC was not part of operation at 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 raid was spearheaded by NCRPO and Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG).
Moreover, PAOCC denied it called raided POGO as “mother of all POGOs” as agency was not involved in the operation.
PAOCC’s spokesman Winston John Casio told reporters in separate message on Viber that they condemn NCRPO’s attempts to associate commission with “failed” operation.
Reason why Casio called operation failure was foreigners who were caught were released after police allegedly failed to secure legal hold on them.
Casio stressed PAOCC would never allow such flaw to happen as they coordinate with Department of Justice’s Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (DOJ-IACAT) and Bureau of Immigration (BI).
He also challenged NCRPO director Maj. Gen. Sidney Hernia to clear PAOCC’s name from being associated with “botched” raid.
He stressed they were also busy preparing for the “successful” operation on Central One, suspected POGO hub in Bagac, Bataan was raided on Thursday, therefore PAOCC is nowhere near Century Peak Tower.
“On personal note, I call on Maj. Gen. Hernia to man up and act as true honorable cavalier,” Casio said.
NCRPO, however, never mentioned 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 raid was focused strictly on executing cyber warrants to counter cybercriminal activities.
He reiterated only NCRPO and PNP-ACG were units involved in the operation and not PAOCC.
“This was not human trafficking operation, therefore, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking was not involved,” he said in a message on Viber.
Hernia added discovery of foreigners at the site was incidental to operation’s primary objective. As such, BI bears no responsibility for any subsequent release of foreigners.
Foreigners caught in Manila – 34 Indonesians, 25 Chinese nationals and 10 Malaysians – were released after BI refused to take legal custody of them, ACG director Maj. Gen. Ronnie Francis Cariaga said.
“Police has arbitrary detention for them if we will have to detain them under our custody,” Cariaga said at a news briefing as he noted government offices are closed due to Undas break.
He added they requested BI to take legal custody of the foreigners for being undocumented nationals as they were not carrying passports.
“There was already a letter coming from the BI that they cannot take legal custody of these foreign nationals…we cannot do otherwise but to release these personalities,” Cariaga said.
In response, BI accused police of “withholding access to necessary information and reports” as they are yet to receive official custody of 69 foreigners.
“BI has been actively pursuing to process detainees in compliance with regulations, yet PNP has been withholding access to necessary information and reports,” said BI in statement.
The 69 foreigners should undergo an assessment by the DOJ-IACAT, said the BI.
Bureau added it “awaits necessary documentation from PNP to initiate the formal turnover process, as has been previously communicated.”
Said documentation should include “all available information related to the subjects’ identities and affidavit of arrest, detailing circumstances of apprehension.”
BI would start its investigation on the 69 foreigners and file charges for violating Philippine immigration laws once it receives all necessary documentation from police.
Following raid of scam hub, Manila city government urged executives of other scam hubs operating in the city to start closing their operations “this week.”
“POGOs need not wait to shut down in December…they can start shutting down now and in the coming weeks…they need not prolong their agony…can end their operations this week because they can,” said Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan in statement .
She referred to POGOs that have been notorious for carrying out online scams and even crimes against their employees.
She advised all POGO executives to voluntarily go to the city hall to start working on their documents to wind down their operations and tell owners of the buildings and houses they occupy that they are ending their rent or lease agreements.
They could also “start serving notices to their employees their employment contracts will end very soon,” she added.
She also vowed city government would help Filipino workers in POGOs find other jobs.
Lacuna-Pangan commended PNP-ACG, PAOCC and the Manila Police District for successfully carrying out raid.
She also echoed her support for ban on POGOs by the end of the year as declared by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.in his State of the Nation Address this year.
Meanwhile, Authority of Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) has confirmed that Central One Bataan PH Inc. is enterprise registered with the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB). They are currently operating in FAB expansion area located in Bagac. In statement, AFAB said inspections are regularly conducted on locators and registered enterprises to ensure they are compliant with the terms and conditions of the authority granted to them.
“We are aware of coverage on news media outlets that Central One has recently been subject of court-issued search warrant carried out by PAOCC… AFAB has not yet received official copies of abovementioned warrant, or any documents relating to the said incident,” authority said.
AFAB said another official statement will be issued after it has seen copies of above-mentioned documents or upon proper communication with appropriate government authorities has been made.
“We remain dedicated to upholding integrity of our regulatory framework and will ensure all necessary actions align with the investigation’s findings and legal standards,” AFAB said.
ISKUP! 