Brig. Gen. Marni C. Marcos Jr., chief of the Police Regional Office – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. (File photo courtesy of PRO-BARMM)
COTABATO CITY -- The police director in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) reminded all police officers across the region not to engage in illegal gambling, warning them of administrative and criminal charges.
Brig. Gen. Marni C. Marcos Jr., director of the Police Regional Office (PRO) – BARMM, said the police leadership aims to clear all forms of illegal gambling activities that tarnish the good reputation of the region.
“Gambling has no place in BARMM,” Marcos said during a program held in Camp SK Pendatun, the headquarters of PRO-BARMM in Parang, Maguindanao, on Friday.
All forms of gambling, he said, "cause irreparable wounds in individual and social life," and are “haram” (forbidden) in the Islam religion.
Marcos said police officers should not engage in any illegal activity, such as receiving bribes and kickbacks from illegal gambling operators.
“That is why we will not tolerate any form of illegal gambling within the region. Receiving amount or materials from illegal gambling is a form of corruption, which is contrary to the program of President Rodrigo Duterte on anti-corruption," he said.
Marcos directed police provincial directors, municipal police heads, and other police units across BARMM to intensify police operations against illegal gambling activities.
“This is in line with the marching order of Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Archie F. Gamboa, in which commanders are ordered to refrain from receiving perks from illegal gambling operators, as well as associating with them,” he said.
Marcos assured the public that any police officer involved in illegal gambling activities "shall be administratively and criminally charged."
He also encouraged the public to report and provide relevant information regarding the operation of illegal gambling activities to the nearest police station within their area and to alert him of any information about police officers involved in illegal activities.
The BARMM is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi; the cities of Cotabato, Marawi, and Lamitan; and the 63 barangays from North Cotabato that opted to be part of the autonomous region. (PNA)
