PNP vows to hunt down wanted POGO suspects

MANILA — The Philippine National Police (PNP) vowed to continue tracking down individuals with pending warrants of arrest following the apprehension of a Chinese national implicated in a qualified human trafficking case linked to illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hubs.

The Chinese national, identified as alias Huang Mingmin, was arrested by the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), in coordination with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), in Parañaque City on October 9.

Huang is the fourth person arrested among 50 individuals named in the warrant in connection with the case filed in Pampanga.

According to PNP Public Information Office chief PCol. Allen Rae Co, the same warrant also names former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and Cassandra “Cassie” Ong as co-accused in the case.

Co said the arrest was part of its continuing monitoring and operations against individuals with outstanding warrants, noting that wanted persons often go into hiding to evade authorities.

“By the very nature ng mga tao na may warrant ay talagang they will try their best to hide, magtago. Trabaho naman namin na hanapin sila, so it will take as long as it will take,” he added. 

The PNP reiterated that implementing warrants of arrest is a legal mandate and that its operations against wanted persons would continue.

“Just like all warrants of arrest, we are mandated by law to execute and implement ‘yung mga warrants of arrest natin. We do not stop and we continuously look for individuals who have pending warrants of arrest,” Co said. 

The police also urged the public to provide information that could help authorities locate wanted persons, assuring informants that their identities and the information they share would remain confidential.