A member of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) is facing an administrative investigation after CCTV footage showed him pocketing a cellphone during a raid at a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm in Bataan.
According to Jun Veneracion’s “24 Oras” report, a member of the raiding team inside a room was seen putting something in his pocket during the raid in Central One Bataan last month.
The said firm was raided due to involvement in alleged scamming and illegal online gambling.
Based on the CCTV footage, the member even looked around and then left. He was then confronted by the cellphone owner forcing him to return the phone.
The PAOCC confirmed that it was their personnel.
“Itong iniimbestigahan ko driver kasi ito, so biglang pumasok biglang pumitik eh hindi pwede yun. Kung kailangan ipakulong ipapakulong namin yan,” said PAOCC Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz.
The said PAOCC member has been relieved, and now is facing an administrative investigation.
It was also during the raid when PAOCC spokesperson Director Winston Casio was caught slapping an employee. He was also temporarily removed from his post pending investigation.
“So hindi namin kinokunsinte ang mga ganung bagay kahit tao namin,” said Cruz.
The 41 foreigners arrested in the raid were ordered released by the Bureau of Immigration on November 7.
Bataan Representative Albert Garcia stood as their guarantor. He said Central One Bataan is a legitimate BPO firm that employs more than a thousand from the province.
“So, bukod sa pagtatawag ko sa mga heads of agency na walang nangyayari, ito na yung naging final desperate move para lang ma-facilitate yung kanilang release. So dahil hiyang-hiya na po ako sa lehitimong investors ng Bataan, yun na po ang aking ginawa,” Garcia said.
However, PAOCC maintained Central One is not a licensed BPO firm based on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) documents.
On November 12, Executive Secretary and PAOCC Chairman Lucas Bersamin issued a directive to the Department of Justice and Bureau of Immigration to detain the 41 foreigners and deport them.
In PAOCC’s monitoring, some of the foreigners were said to have been flown by private plane from Clark to Cebu after being released.—Sherylin Untalan/LDF, GMA Integrated News
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