PNP probes 2 cops escorting POGO workers

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police is investigating two officers who allegedly escorted 22 Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) workers from Metro Manila to Cagayan province, where they were denied entry on Thursday.

The PNP Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) had opened a probe to “determine the circumstances” of the incident, PNP spokesperson  Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac told the Inquirer on Monday.

“[The] PNP will never tolerate erring personnel,” Banac said.

He added that, if the evidence warranted, the PNP would file the corresponding administrative and criminal charges against the officers, who are both members of the PSPG based in the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame, Quezon City.

The Cagayan provincial police director, Col. Ariel Quilang, earlier reported that the POGO workers were barred from entering as they tried to sneak into the province, which was under the enhanced community quarantine in place over the whole of Luzon.

They were allegedly able to exit Metro Manila — also under a de facto lockdown — with the aid of the two police escorts. The workers were onboard two delivery trucks and two private vans when they were stopped at a checkpoint in Cagayan province.

The new coronavirus disease interagency task force, however, allowed one of the workers, Benedict Wong, who manages Eastern Hawaii Casino in Santa Ana, Cagayan, to enter the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport. The rest were sent back to Metro Manila.

Quilang said that Wong, as a person under monitoring, was ordered to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine.