MANILA – A total of 49 police officers assigned to the Bamban Municipal Police Station were relieved from their positions in light of the investigation into illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) in Tarlac.
Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the relieved police officers will be assigned to the Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit of the Police Regional Office-3 (PRO-Central Luzon).
Taking over the affected policemen are officers from the PRO-3 1st and 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Companies and nearby Tarlac City and the towns of Concepcion and Capas.
“Sasa-ilalim sila doon sa tinatawag nating focused reformation and reorientation for police officers, ‘yung tinatawag nating FORM diyan,” Fajardo said in a press briefing in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Tuesday.
Fajardo said the Tarlac chief of police was earlier relieved following the March 13 raid by law enforcers on the POGO establishment Zun Yuan Technology Inc.
“If you may recall, this is not the first time that we relieved police officers and many of them are commanders. It’s not only our ordinary police officers who are involved in illegal activities, neglect of duty or serious irregularity in the performance of duty because we are also holding their immediate supervisors accountable, which include chiefs of police,” Fajardo said.
On Monday, the Office of the Ombudsman imposed a six-month preventive suspension on Baban mayor Alice Guo and two other municipal officials in connection with the graft charges related to POGOs filed by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The Ombudsman found sufficient grounds to suspend Guo, Edwin Ocampo, and Adenn Sigua “considering that there is strong evidence showing their guilt” on the charges of grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and gross neglect of duty./PN
