By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The government’s top cop-hunter just turned on his own. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Monday named CIDG-Bacolod chief P/Maj. Edgar Tonico Jr., as the alleged inside man protecting illegal e-sabong dens in Negros — accusing the police major of tipping off operators and masking local studios as offshore ops.
Remulla dropped the bombshell on April 27 after a three-day sweep of Negros Occidental with PNP Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. The visit covered a smashed P800-million cigarette smuggling ring in Bacolod and Bago City, plus an e-sabong hub in Talisay City.
“Siya ang protector. Siya ang nanliligaw sa mga pulis kung may follow-up operations na ginagawa,” Remulla said.
The DILG chief said Tonico set up a Vietnamese-language cover to fool authorities. “Pinapalabas nila na out of the country ang operations, pero dito talaga sa Pilipinas – sa Talisay City – ginagawa ang studio para sa e-sabong.”
No direct link yet ties the Negros ring to fugitive businessman Atong Ang, wanted for the missing sabungeros case. But Remulla said Tonico and a “Don Robert” were “known cohorts of Atong Ang in the height of the e-sabong between 2020 and 2022.”
Tonico’s alleged role forced CIDG-Cebu and national HQ to take over the Talisay raid, bypassing Bacolod operatives.
Tonico is now under preventive custody at the regional headquarters as investigators build cases against him, Remulla confirmed.
A former Negros Occidental PPO and CIDG-Aklan officer, Tonico took over CIDG-Bacolod last year. He has not issued a statement.
Police are now tracking Don Robert and alias Macmac, tagged as the operators running the e-sabong network.
ia/xf
