ON orders of Philippine National Police chief, General Archie Francisco F. Gamboa, all 17 Police Regional Office directors and the head of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group will go public today to strictly reiterate the PNP chief’s ‘no-take’ policy when it comes to all forms of illegal gambling and any other illegal activities, the Journal Group learned yesterday.
All 17 RDs, joined by their provincial directors will hold their respective press conferences today to reiterate Gen. Gamboa’s policies as well as his ‘1-strike policy’ which will lead to the immediate relief of any police chief in the event illegal gambling activities including presence of the banned ‘video-karera’ machines which has been associated with illegal drug use will be confiscated in his/her area by agents of the PNP Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group and the regional or provincial headquarters.
So far, Gen. Gamboa has ordered the administrative relief of a number of police officials for a ‘confluence of events’ including their failure to address illegal gambling activities in their areas.
They include the erstwhile regional director of the Police Regional Office 7 in Central Visayas, the erstwhile Southern Police District director, the erstwhile Bulacan Police Provincial Office director and the chiefs of police of Muntinlupa, Pasay and Caloocan cities as well as the chiefs of police of San Jose del Monte City, Guiguinto Municipal Police Station and Sta. Maria Municipal Police Station in Bulacan and the head of the Bulacan Provincial Special Operations Group.
National Capital Region Police Office director, Major Gen. Debold M. Sinas also ordered the administrative relief of seven NCRPO Police-Community Precincts in Muntinlupa, Pasay and Caloocan in the aftermath of a series of raids conducted by the PNP-IMEG headed by Colonel Ronald O. Lee.
Police Regional Office 4-A director, Brig. Gen. Vicente D. Danao Jr., also relieved the erstwhile chief of the San Pablo City Police Station in Laguna following a raid which led in the confiscation of scores of ‘VK’ machines. .
Gen. Gamboa has reiterated his nationwide order for a crackdown against ‘video-karera’ machines as part of his ‘no-take’ policy on illegal gambling activities even as he called on his men to arrest and charge ‘Chief, PNP name-droppers.’
Two weeks ago, Gen. Gamboa said that their approach when it comes to pursuing an aggressive internal cleansing program will be inside out.
“I already gave my initial directives when I was the Officer-In-Charge. They are still my standing orders. I want to put emphasis on the “no take policy” in whatever form or material or monetary consideration from operators of illegal gambling, drug dealers, including any form of bribe or “kotong” from analogous illegal sources,” he said.
Gen. Gamboa has ordered the PNP-IMEG to go after police officers and men defying his ‘no-take policy’ on illegal gambling regardless of their position. Last Thursday afternoon, PNP-IMEG agents arrested a retired Quezon City policeman who tried to bribe them in exchange for the unhampered operations of his ‘VK’ machines.
Lee said that retired Senior Police Officer 4 Brigidio Capio An, a former member of the Q.C. Police District Intelligence and Detection Unit was arrested during an entrapment operation conducted at the Eagle’s Nest Coffee Shop inside the PNP national headquarters in Camp Crame.
According to Lee, the suspect who retired from the police force in 2014 called Lieutenant Col. Dominick S. Poblete, the officer-in-charge of the IMEG Luzon Field Unit thru the officer’s personal number and offered to initially give the IMEG Officer P10,000 in ‘goodwill money’ to start their talk about a monthly ‘tong’ in order to freely run his illegal VK operations.
The PNP-IMEG director said he ordered the entrapment operation after Poblete informed him about the monetary offer. In the ensuing sting, the suspect was placed under arrest by IMEG Luzon Field Unit and Counter-Intelligence Division agents after he handed P10,000 in cash to Poblete while telling the officer that it would be on a weekly basis.
The PNP-IMEG director said that they are still conducting follow-up operations to get all the VK machines being operated by the accused.
The arrest of the retired policeman-turned VK operator came in the wake of the stepped-up campaign against VK operations and other forms of illegal gambling activities in the country ordered by Gen. Gamboa.
