The Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Pangasinan asked the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Urdaneta City for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against the 23 accused in an illegal e-sabong case, headed by a son and his parents who are the primary suspects in the P75- million Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) missing cash performance bond.
P/ Lt.Col. Junmar Gonzales, chief of Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) Pangasinan Provincial Office, told the Daily Tribune that he has already alerted his operatives for possible dragnet operation once the warrant of arrest is issued by the court.
The motion was prompted by the failure to appear during the scheduled 5 October 2023 arraignment before Urdaneta City RTC Branch 45 of the accused, led by husband and wife Rizalina and Simplicio Castro and their son Jewel Castro.
The parents and the son are the private respondents, along with the seven past and present top officials of PAGCOR, in the graft and other criminal charges filed before the Office of the Ombudsman involving the missing P75-million cash performance bond posted by a franchisee corporation.
Newly appointed PAGCOR chair and COO Alejandro Tengco has also ordered a thorough investigation of the controversy, as he vowed to bring to justice those found to be involved in the case.
Spouses Rizalina and Simplicio Castro were arrested by the PNP-CIDG operatives during the recent lighting raids in the lair of wanted individuals in Loac, Pangasinan, who are subject to a warrant of arrest issued by Quezon City RTC Branch 77 in connection with a multi-million investment scam.
Jewel Castro, and one of the fugitives identified as Ethan Eleazar, were able to escape the arrest, PNP-CIDG Director Maj. Gen. Romeo Caramat said. Eleazar and one "Masayaki Kimura", also with a warrant of arrest, and are identified as lieutenants of Jewel Castro, are among the incorporators of Broiler Enterpreneurship Agriventures Inc., subject of the syndicated estafa case pending in the Quezon City court.
Gonzales said that the operation was launched after they were tip-off that the two fugitives, who are the subject of a warrant of arrest issued by the Quezon City court, were the ones operating the illegal online e-sabong in Loac, Pangasinan. However, during the course of the operation, the CIDG stumbled upon a large-scale illegal online e-sabong being operated by the Castros and their fugitive cohorts.
Police added, however, that the arrested accused could not identify the person with the name "Masayuki Kimura", despite the reports that he was among the fugitives hiding in the lair. Thus, they claimed that "Masayuki Kimura" could be a fictitious name.