The Office of the Ombudsman ordered the preventive suspension of incumbent officials of Porac, Pampanga over the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in the said area.
In an order dated October 8, Mayor Jaime Capil and Vice Mayor Francis Laurence Tamayo were ordered a preventive suspension, concerning the case filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on their neglect of duty.
Additionally, a preventive suspension order was also granted for Emerald Vital, the Licensing Assistant, and then OIC Business Permit and Licensing Office.
Meanwhile, the following Sangguinang Bayan members were also included:
- Rohner Buan
- Rafael Canlapan
- Adrian Carreon
- Regin Clarete
- Essel Joy David
- Hilario Dimalanta
- Michelle Santos
- John Nuevy Venzon
The mentioned officials’ preventive suspension order will last until the case’s termination, but will not exceed the total period of six months, without pay.
“In case of delay in the disposition of the case due to the fault, negligence or any cause attributable to the respondents, the period of such delay shall not be counted in computing the period of the preventive suspension,” the Ombudsman indicated in the document.
BREAKING: Mayor, vice mayor at buong konseho ng Porac, Pampanga sinuspinde ng Ombudsman dahil sa ni-raid na POGO | @dzrh5 Val Gonzales, DZRH News pic.twitter.com/hRsGdc7TZ0
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) October 9, 2024
Allegations against the mentioned officials stemmed from the raided POGO hub, Lucky South 99, in Porac, Pampanga in June. According to authorities, the said POGO hub was involved in human trafficking.
The DILG filed a case against Capil and the others over their failure to verify Lucky South 99’s business permit.
