AMID RUMORS: ICPO clarifies all arrested poker players charged

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Colonel Joeresty Coronica, the Iloilo City police chief, has confirmed that all 29 suspects arrested during the April 20 anti-illegal gambling operation in City Proper, Iloilo City, have been charged in court.

Coronica issued the statement following rumors that some suspects had been released without facing legal consequences.

Coronica presented a document from the Iloilo City Prosecutors Office, confirming the receipt of the charge sheet against the 29 suspects on April 22. They are all facing charges under Presidential Decree 1602, which imposes stiffer penalties for illegal gambling.

He explained that the delay some suspects experienced in posting bail was due to providing “incomplete names” to the arresting officers.

“There are suspects who have two given names but they only gave one to our policemen. That’s why it took a while for them to post bail,” Coronica said.

Police reports confirm that all the suspects have been released after posting bail.

In response to the rumors about selective prosecution, the city police chief said, “There’s no sacred cow. All of them were charged.”

Coronica acknowledged that there were attempts to negotiate the release of some suspects caught during a poker tournament in Aurora Subdivision, City Proper district, but he noted that these attempts “did not even get to first base.”

Among those arrested were a policeman, a fireman, a Korean businessman, the tournament organizer Rey Anthony Bayag, 41, of Bankers Village, Barangay Tabuc Suba, Jaro, his four staff members, a former barangay official, and 19 businessmen.