4 rescued in Porac POGO hub are kidnap victims — PNP

Four individuals who were rescued from a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga were confirmed to be victims of kidnapping, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Monday.

“Apat na po ‘yung confirmed na kidnap victims po diyan,” PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said in a media briefing.

(We have confirmed that there are 4 kidnap victims.)

Fajardo said that one of the four was handcuffed to a bed frame. Authorities previously discovered evidence of torture and kidnapping in the said hub.

Last week’s raid led to the arrest of 158 Chinese, Vietnamese and Malaysian nationals.

Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) spokesperson Dr. Winston Casio previously said they expected to arrest more than 1,000, but that information on the operation may have been leaked.

Following this, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the raid showed the possible influence of Chinese syndicates in the country’s court systems.

This prompted the Supreme Court to conduct an investigation into the allegations.

When sought for an update, High Court spokesperson Atty. Camille Ting earlier said there was no report yet from the Office of the Court Administration on the probe.

Meanwhile, a Pampanga court also previously withdrew the search warrant it issued to PAOCC due to technicalities as the warrant did not specify the individuals and items that would be searched.

Fajardo said the court granted a new warrant the next day.

“Upon the approval po, nag tuloy-tuloy po ‘yung implementation ng search warrant within 10 days po,” she said.

(Upon the approval of po, the implementation of the search warrant will continue within 10 days.) —RF, GMA Integrated News