Acorda denies POGO ties: ‘I never tolerated illegal activities’

MANILA, Philippines – Former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief retired police general Benjamin Acorda Jr. denied the allegations linking him to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO).

“With regards to the picture na [ipinipilit] ako i-connect or ini-insinuate na i-connect doon sa illegal operations, wala akong masabi diyan. I never tolerated or transacted illegal activities with my friends…. Hindi ako nakikipag-transact sa illegal. ‘Yan lang ang masasabi ko,” Acorda told reporters in a phone interview on Wednesday, September 25.

(With regards to the picture, where they insist on connecting me or insinuate that I am connected to illegal operations, I have nothing to say about that. I never tolerated or transacted illegal activities with my friends. I don’t transact with illegal entities. That’s all I can say.)

Questions were raised about Acorda’s possible connections to POGOs after photos of him with Chinese businessman Tony Yang were shown during the Senate inquiry on POGOs on Tuesday. Yang, the brother of former presidential adviser Michael Yang, has been suspected of shady activities, including faking his Filipino birth certificate. The Chinese businessman was arrested last week by authorities for being an undesirable alien.

During the hearing, Yang said that he knew Acorda since the latter once served as Northern Mindanao regional police chief. Under his jurisdiction was Cagayan de Oro, where most of Yang’s businesses are located.

“As I have said, medyo masakit, hindi lang medyo, talagang masakit because for 37 years, I tried to keep my records clean pero just for one picture or many pictures and with so many innuendos, nasira kaagad. Pero kasama na ‘yan sa serbisyo,” Acorda said.

(As I have said, this hurts a bit, not just a bit, this really hurts because for 37 years, I tried to keep my records clean but just for one picture or many pictures and with so many innuendos, my reputation was tarnished. But that’s part of public service.)

As the government continues its probe and crackdown against POGOs marred with allegations of human trafficking and other crimes, it was alleged that a former PNP chief allegedly aided dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo in escaping. Guo is at the center of the probe due to her ties with the POGO in her town raided due to allegations of human trafficking.

The specific PNP chief was not named in the allegation, but Acorda also came clean and denied his involvement with the dismissed mayor.

“I can say to anybody, squarely eye to eye, without flinching an eye na masabi [ko na] malinis tayo diyan kay Alice Guo. Wala tayong pakialam diyan sa pagtakas niya. Hindi rin ako tumatanggap ng pera sa kanya,” Acorda explained. “Ako ang nagpa-operate sa Bamban. That is to [set] the record straight and ‘yan hindi tayo nakikipag-transaction, hindi tayo nakipag-negotiate kung whatever na gusto nilang i-insinuate.”

(I can say to anybody, squarely eye to eye, without flinching an eye, that I am not involved in anything related to Alice Guo. We have nothing to do with her escape. I did not also receive money from her. I was the one who ordered to operate in Bamban. This is to set the record straight. I never made any transaction, and we never negotiated anything like what they want to insinuate.)

Acorda, an Ilocano general, was President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s second PNP chief. He was appointed in April 2023 and was supposed to retire in December of that year, but the President extended his term. Acorda served until March 2024.

Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated, the POGO located in Bamban, was raided by authorities under Acorda’s term. – Rappler.com