CIDG official denies hand in stolen P13.45 million

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December 4, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — A police official has denied involvement in stealing part of the P141 million seized during an anti-trafficking operation in Bataan last year.

Lt. Col. Jose Joey Arandia is the commander of six Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) personnel accused of stealing P13.45 million from the total cash recovered at Central One Bataan.

Arandia and the six police officers were relieved from their posts and are under investigation for administrative offenses.

“I am not involved. The money in my custody is accounted for,” Arandia told GMA News on Tuesday.

The CIDG command group at the time allowed him to bring the money to his residence for safekeeping, he said.

After discovering that police officers had replaced portions of the forfeited cash with boodle money, Arandia said he conducted an investigation and identified the suspects.

Meanwhile, the management of Central One Bataan has shut down  following a raid that reportedly left over 1,500 people jobless.

Reports claiming that the firm was an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub led to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission’s operation.

No cases have been filed so far against company officials, an insider said. A source also claimed that Central One Bataan, which started operations in January 2023, is not a POGO hub.

“They insisted that it is a POGO without checking,” said the source, who asked not to be named.

Even if most of the seized money was returned to Central One Bataan, the insider said it is not enough for the company to recover from financial losses.