PNP, PAOCC on the trail of top Porac exec
ANGELES CITY—The Philippine National Police and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) are tracking down the mayor of Porac town in Pampanga to serve the arrest warrant issued by the court against him.
The Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch (RTC) 265 issued on Nov. 28 a warrant of arrest against Mayor Jaime Capil for seven counts of graft charges for alleged negligence that allowed an online scam hub operated by Lucky South 99 to thrive in his town.
A source said police and PAOCC operatives are “locating” Capil to serve him the warrant.
A short PNP video showed policemen knocking at the gate of Capil’s residence in Porac at around 8 p.m. on Sunday, to serve the arrest warrant, but failed to do so because the mayor was not there.
Asked to confirm that Capil was not found in his residence, Pampanga Provincial Police Office director Col. Eugene Marcelo answered in the affirmative in a message to the Inquirer on Monday.
It was the PAOCC and the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group that filed in October last year the graft complaint against Capil for alleged neglect of duty that resulted in the illegal operation of Lucky South 99, a Philippine offshore gaming operator that was later found to be an online scam hub that was also involved in human trafficking, torture and other illegal activities.
The complaint was filed before the Department of Justice, which referred the case to the Office of the Ombudsman before it was filed at the Pasig RTC Branch 265.
RTC Branch 265 acting Presiding Judge Josephine Advento has set the mayor’s bail at P90,000.
Assurance
In a post late afternoon on Sunday, Bayung Porac, the official Facebook page of Porac municipal government under the Capil administration, said “there is no official detailed statement yet from the Mayor.”
It said Capil and his legal team were still verifying the warrant, as the mayor was neither notified about the warrant nor received a copy of it.
“Please be assured that Mayor Jing Capil will submit himself to the requirements of the law, as long as due process is duly accorded to him,” it added.
In a Palace press briefing on Monday, PNP public information chief Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said Capil has not left the country: “He is in the Philippines, as per immigration records. Nandidito pa rin siya (He is still here).” According to Tuaño, Capil has “sent surrender feelers to the PNP,” but they would only know within the week if he would do so. “If not, we will begin an intensive manhunt for him.”
