Ex-PNP chief: I did what was good for the country

MANILA, Philippines — After photographs of him in the company of people with alleged links to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) surfaced at a Senate hearing yesterday, former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. maintained he only did what is good for the country.

“What I can only say is that I love my country and the PNP organization,” Acorda said in a statement to reporters.

It was during Acorda’s term that the PNP intensified law enforcement operations against illegal POGOs allegedly engaged in qualified human trafficking and other criminal activities.

“I did what needs to be done as a Filipino and I fulfilled that duty as a police officer,” Acorda said.

Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Director Maj. Gen. Leo Francisco will continue with its probe on the former PNP chief who allegedly helped dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo escape the country even if the source of the information has admitted it was only based on a rumor.

“The CIDG will continue its investigation on the matter and we will not stop,” Francisco told reporters.

PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil has ordered an investigation on who among the 24 former police chiefs who are still alive are allegedly on Guo’s payroll.

Apart from Villanueva’s statement, Francisco said they have other means to validate whether the information that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. official made public has basis.

“We are gathering information from other sectors. We have open sources that we can get information from, that’s why we are not stopping our investigation,” the CIDG director said.

He added they want to know if there were other PNP personnel who helped Guo escape.

The CIDG already has the names of certain personalities who assisted Guo but Francisco refused to disclose more details as their investigation is still ongoing.

However, Francisco is certain the dismissed mayor could not have escaped without getting assistance from other people.