The Department of Justice has dismissed the criminal charges filed by the National Bureau of Investigation against operators of “Peryahan ng Bayan” in Quezon City.
In a resolution, the panel of prosecutors from the DOJ Task Force on Special Cases dismissed for lack of probable cause the illegal gambling complaint against 15 employees of Globaltech Mobile Online Corp. who operated in the PB venues.
The DOJ ruled that the respondents from Globaltech did not violate the law since their gambling operations were legal at the time of the NBI raids last month despite the revocation of their license to operate by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office in 2016.
During the inquest proceedings, it was learned that Globaltech was able to secure a status quo ante order against the PCSO ruling from a Pasig City regional trial court last year. The status quo ante order remains valid.
“The NBI operatives’ reliance in the documents submitted by the PCSO and a letter from one Marcelo Flores is misplaced considering that the same are not verified, hearsay, self-serving and full of partiality and therefore are not sufficient to establish a valid warrantless arrest,” read the DOJ resolution signed by Assistant State Prosecutors Amenda Garcia and Florencio dela Cruz Jr. and Associate Prosecution Lawyer Criselda Teoxon.
The investigating prosecutors said the case is pending before the Court of Appeals where PCSO filed a petition for certiorari challenging the RTC’s order.
The DOJ held that the PCSO’s petition before the appellate court “clearly shows its recognition that the Status Quo Ante Order is still in effect and subsisting. And there is no proof that a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) or injunctive relief has been issued by the appellate Court.”
“Thus, it is without a doubt that at the time of the implementation of the search warrant in the subject premises of Globaltech, its operation of the numbers game Peryahan ng Bayan is still duly covered by a valid and subsisting authority/license from PCSO. Consequently, respondents cannot be considered as engaged in an illegal numbers game at the time they were arrested.”
PCSO and Globaltech have figured in legal dispute after the government regulator of gambling operations terminated the firm’s permit in 2016 due to supposed non-remittance of earnings worth about P100 million.