Police reported that an indoor firing range and an underground tunnel was discovered in what seems like a residential compound in Brgy. Siñura in Porac, Pampanga.
Authorities said the facilities were searched, adding that the said facilities are suspected to be used by Chinese nationals overseeing illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) activities in Bamban, Tarlac, and in Porac, Pampanga,
Police Col. Jay Dimaandal, Pampanga police provincial director, quoted by ABS-CBN News, further disclosed that the compound is located less than five kilometers from the offices of Lucky South 99 Outsourcing, Inc. in Brgy. Sta. Cruz that authorities raided last month.
A video of the search posted by Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda and carried by the Pampanga Public Information Office showed police searching a well-lit underground hallway lined with empty shelves and that led to empty offices and a bedroom, ABS-CBN reported.
The bedroom is said to have glass sliding doors that open onto a small lagoon separating the rooms from the rest of the compound. Pineda’s video did not show the firing range.
Authorities also found alleged torture devices and “incriminating” documents.
“We found the subjects of the search warrant… hazing paraphernalia like handcuffs and a baseball bat,” Dimaandal said.
Police further said the occupants of the compound and two identified incorporators of Whirlwind Corp. the company leasing the Barangay Sta. Cruz property to Lucky South 99, were apprehended.
Dimaandal further said: “We are holding them at the station for questioning. The two incorporators of Whirlwind are also inside)Further investigation found that the construction of the resort and residence was carried out without a building permit from the office of Porac Mayor Jing Capil.”
There was no barangay clearance for the construction of the compound either, authorities sad.
Earlier, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) disclosed that it will search the other floors of a three-storey building in Makati City that houses an illegal clinic catering to workers at Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).
NBI Director Jaime Santiago, quoted by reports, said that they only had a search warrant for the ground floor of the building where they found an operating clinic that catered to Chinese and Vietnamese patients, when it was only registered as a pharmacy.
Santiago said they have coordinated with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and will revisit the site on Monday.
