PNP: 49 Bamban cops relieved from posts amid POGO probe

All 49 police officers of the Bamban, Tarlac municipal police were relieved from their posts amid the investigation into a raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in their town.

In a press conference, PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said that the turnover of new police personnel was done last Monday.

"Kahapon po ay pinangunahan po ng regional director ng Police Regional Office 3 si Brigadier General Jose Hidalgo Jr. 'yung turnover po diyan sa Bamban Municipal Police Station kung saan 49 na PNP personnel po ni-relieved po," she said.

(Police Regional Office 3 Brigadier General Jose Hidalgo Jr. led the turnover rites yesterday at the Bamban Municipal Police Station, where 49 PNP personnel were relieved.)

The relieved policemen were transferred to the personnel holding and accounting unit and will undergo a reformation program.

According to Fajardo, their replacements came from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 3, as well as from nearby police stations.

Only the Bamban police chief has been retained as he just assumed the post after his predecessor was relieved right after the POGO raid.

The development comes a day after the Office of the Ombudsman preventively suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and two other local government officials for up to six months.

Earlier, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) filed graft complaints against Guo over her reported involvement with a raided POGO in her locality.

The complaints were filed with the Ombudsman on May 24 and stemmed from the issuance of a permit to Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc. despite the company failing to complete the requirements and having an expired license from the Philippine  Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR).

"Given [the] respondents' power and authority, there is a strong probability that they may influence witnesses or tamper with any evidence material to the case," the Ombudsman said in a nine-page order.

Other than Guo, others ordered suspended were Business Permit and Licensing Officer Edwin Ocampo and Municipal Legal Officer Adenn Sigua.

On March 13, authorities raided a 10-hectare area operated by Zun Yuan Technology Inc. and found several devices said to be linked to POGO operations. Over 600 Filipinos and foreigners were rescued during the raid.

The complex was previously raided in 2023 when it was operated by Hongsheng Technology Inc., which is now being linked to Guo as she applied for the letter of no objection for the complex's license to operate. — VDV, GMA Integrated News