Porac, Pampanga Mayor Jing Capil faces the Senate on July 10, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News  MANILA — The mayor of Porac, Pampanga on Wednesday faced tough questioning from senators who were in disbelief that he had "no knowledge" of the illegal activities of Lucky South 99, the illegal POGO hub raided by authorities last month.

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Sen. Risa Hontiveros said that as early as July 2021, the local Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) had informed the office of Porac, Pampanga Mayor Jaime "Jing" Capil that illegal activities were allegedly happening in a hotel operated by Lucky South 99.

"Ang sabi niyo wala po kayong alam sa mga ilegal na gawain sa POGO sa Porac. Let me flash this letter po. As early as 2021, nai-report na sa inyo... na may serious illegal detention, cybercriminal activities, prostitution, and illegal drugs sa premises leased by Lucky South 99," said Hontiveros, chair of the Senate panel leading the probe.

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"So mayor, it's either, for lack of a better word, ignorant po kayo dito o complicit kayo dito," Hontiveros added.

Capil said the letter never reached his desk.

But Hontiveros showed that the letter was stamped "received" by the Office of the Municipal Mayor.

Police Maj. Arvin Hosmilla, who wrote the letter to Capil, confirmed that he did not receive any response or cooperation from the LGU in pursuing the investigation. Office of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian

"In all honesty, hindi po nakarating sa 'kin yung sulat. Kung nakarating lang sakin, hindi maaaring hindi aaksyunan yan," Capil said.

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Police Maj. Arvin Hosmilla, who wrote the letter to Capil, confirmed that he did not receive any response or cooperation from the local government in pursuing the investigation.

Capil also said that he had received periodic reports from Pampanga police that there were no criminal activities in the said POGO hub.

But Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, a former mayor himself, was not convinced.

"That's a very convenient excuse pero kung ganito kahalagang sulat, dapat nasa lamesa na ito ni mayor," Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian said the LGU "allowed" the criminal activities to flourish for 3 years.

"As early as 2021, meron nang nangyayaring ganyan na problema pero pinalampas lang ito until 2024, [three] years after. So ganon kahaba pinalampas itong criminal activities dito sa Porac," Gatchalian said.

"Nabasa ko ang justification niyo sa position paper, lahat afterthought na lang... to justifiy your non-action," Gatchalian added.

Lucky South 99 was raided last month and was suspected to have been conducting illegal activities, including scam modus, kidnapping, illegal detention, and human and sex trafficking, and even torture.

Gatchalian, who had visited the compound, earlier said it was the "most violent" POGO they discovered.

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