Police Colonel Royina Garma, director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), says police conducted a raid of the House of Jacks in Barangay Kamputhaw, Cebu City back on February 1, 2019. | CDN File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The interior of the illegal gambling joint that was photographed by Conrado Romano and attached to the complaint letter that was sent to the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas is similar to the poker den that police raided back in February 2019.
This was revealed by Police Colonel Royina Garma, director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), in a conference call with reporters on Monday, May 6, 2019.
Garma said they raided House of Jack’s in Ralph’s Wines and Spirits on February 1, 2019, which was then reported as an illegal gambling joint.
House of Jacks, located on Morales Street in Barangay Kamputhaw, was reported by sources as a poker den which was visited by prominent individuals, including politicians.
READ: Police raid gambling dens in Cebu City frequented by prominent persons and politicians in Cebu
During the February 1 raid, 23 persons were arrested by the Cebu City police.
No political personality was arrested during the raid.
Garma said she is aware of the poker den since her stint as the chief of the Crime Prevention and Detection Group in Central Visayas from January 2017 to July 2018.
Garma become CCPO director in July 2018.
When she found out that the said poker den is still within her area of responsibility as city director, Garma said they applied for a search warrant of the House of Jacks.
During the raid, Garma said they did not retrieve any materials which may prove that Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña frequents the illegal gambling joint.
Garma, however, said that the interior of House of Jacks is similar to the interior of the illegal gambling joint that appeared in a photograph that has since gone viral because of the alleged presence of Mayor Osmeña.
Garma declined from giving further comments on the issue.
She said it is now up to the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas to act on the complaint.
In a complaint letter addressed to the Deputy Ombudsman in the Visayas, and dated April 30, 2019, Conrado Romano revealed that he saw Osmeña three times in the same joint, which he referred to as the House of Jacks in Ralph’s Wines and Spirits.
With his alleged presence in the illegal gambling joint, Romano believed that Osmeña’s actions violate Presidential Decree 1602, Grave Misconduct, Conduct Unbecoming of a Public Official and Neglect of Duty. / celr