BAD HIGH-STAKES BET
COUNCILOR, POLICE CAUGHT VIOLATING CASINO BAN
A day after PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa declared casinos off-limits to all police operatives, a police team caught PO2 Cyrelle Bayate of the Parian Police Station allegedly gambling in a casino in Cebu City Also caught, but in another casino in Lapu-Lapu City, was Councilor Lemuel Pogoy of Cordova town; an intelligence officer in Lapu-Lapu City says Pogoy was found playing with a slot machine For years, government has been trying to stop public servants from gambling in casinos; one of the earliest bans dates back to 1977, which Malacañang cited in an order in September 2016
The Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 arrested a policewoman and a municipal councilor who gambled inside casinos in the cities of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu, in what’s said to be the first such arrest in the country by the Philippine National Police (PNP).
PO2 Cyrelle Bayate, who is assigned at the Parian Police Station of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), and Lemuel Pogoy, a municipal councilor of Cordova, were caught just a day after PNP Chief Ronald Dela Rosa declared casinos off-limits to all police operatives. The rule also applied to all other government officials.
“After the declaration, we dispatched intelligence operatives to all major cities in Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu. And it turned out to be positive,” Supt. Josefino Ligan, deputy chief of the Regional Intelligence Division (RID), said.
The two violated the Memorandum Circular Number, 6 which prohibits all government officials and employees from gambling in casinos, Ligan said.
Bayate was caught at dawn yesterday in Cebu City while Pogoy was arrested last Thursday evening in Lapu-Lapu.
The Cebu City Intelligence Branch (CIB) chief, Chief Insp. Cristopher Navida, said that Bayate was placed under surveillance after a citizen tipped them about what she was doing.
You’ve been warned
“Her arrest will serve as a wake-up call to other police officers who are patronizing casinos. They should just stop it,” Navida said.
Senior Insp. Narrolf Tan, chief of the Parian Police, said that Bayate was part of his office staff.
“I’ve heard reports that she was not present when it’s time for her duty but she complied when I instructed her to,” Tan said.
In an interview, Bayate said that she will face the charges filed against her.
“Ako nang atubangon, Ma’am. Nasayangan ko sa akong trabaho (I will face the charges. I regret what this will mean for my job),” she said.
Aside from the gambling charges, Bayate will also face administrative and criminal cases.
Confiscated from her was a homemade .38 caliber Smith and Wesson with five live bullets and some documents.
Bayate got involved in an issue after her roommate allegedly committed suicide in 2014.
With the arrests, different police offices and stations are now urged to monitor their personnel as regards gambling in casinos.
Chief Insp. Mark Sucalit, CIB chief of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LCPO), said that they caught Pogoy in plain view, while he played with a slot machine.
“We caught him in front of the machine,” Sucalit said.
Last Wednesday, Dela Rosa said that the violation will be placed under the PNP’s onestrike policy and may cause the dismissal of officers.