The Chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), General Mabil, has ordered the temporary suspension of Sidney Hernia, the director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), and Ronie Cariaga, the head of the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG), for a period of ten days.
This temporary suspension stems from an incident on October 29, when police conducted a raid on a suspected illegal gambling company in Century Peak New Dingcai Building in Manila, during which Hernia and others were accused of extortion. During this period, Brigadier General Tan Wen will temporarily assume the role of NCRPO director, and Colonel Yu Siman will take over as head of the ACG.
Brigadier General Jane Fahadao, the director of the PNP's Public Information Office, stated that the administrative investigation aims to assess whether there were any irregularities in the police raid, and the temporary suspension of Hernia and Cariaga is to ensure the independence of the investigation.
She emphasized that this measure is not a punishment but a necessary step in the investigation, which will be led by Deputy Chief General Dubliya.
In the raid on October 29, the police arrested several foreigners involved, including four Chinese nationals. The arrestees accused Hernia and an additional 14 NCRPO officers of extortion during the operation.
It is reported that these suspects have requested the suspension of Hernia in a complaint to the Minister of the Interior, Zhong Mi Li Wu Re, to ensure a fair investigation. Hernia has firmly denied all allegations.
Building surveillance footage showed that some members of the Anti-Cybercrime Group deliberately covered cameras during the search. For this behavior, three ACG officers involved have been dismissed. The police emphasized that they held a search warrant issued by the Manila court, and the search operation was completely legal.
This incident has led to increased scrutiny of previous operations by the NCRPO and ACG. In 2023, similar accusations were made during a raid by these departments in the POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) park in Las Pinas City, Metro Manila. The operation was accused of procedural violations, resulting in the release of the arrested foreign suspects.
The investigation revealed that the police did not transfer the arrested foreigners to the detention center for deportees but detained them in Hongtai Park. Subsequently, the Department of Justice withdrew the criminal charges against these foreigners, and the court also ordered the police to return the substantial amount of pesos confiscated during the operation.
This incident has drawn public attention to the law enforcement procedures and transparency of the Philippine police, and has once again questioned the compliance of the operations of the NCRPO and ACG.
