The Philippine National Police (PNP) has promised security assistance to personnel and officials of the Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission (PAOCC) who have received death threats.
"We are in close coordination with PAOCC at and if they receive any, it would be better for them to give us their statements so that if they have identified the source of these grave threats, we would be able to documents these and we can file the necessary charges,” PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo told a press conference at Camp Crame, which has been reported and translated by news agencies in the Philippines.
This came shortly after PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio said some of PAOCC’s personnel had received death threats after the recent crackdown on illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), which also saw a senator suspended, expelled from her party and charged in court. The personnel being threatened are civilian analysts of the organisation.
Fajardo has also emphasised that the PNP will not tolerate rogues among its ranks.
“We are also calling on individuals or groups who have information relative to the possible involvement of our police officers to cooperate with the PNP,” she said.
The recent raids on illegal POGOs by the Philippines authorities have caught a lot of attention from their own government representatives and as well as regulators, with some representatives even asking for a total ban on online gambling.
However, the negative news did not deter others from expanding into the Philippines market and its regulated legal gaming and gambling industry.
