Retired Brigadier General Raul Villanueva, who now heads security and monitoring at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), changed his tune on the supposed involvement of a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief in the short-lived escape of Alice Guo.
In a radio interview, Police Major General Leo Francisco, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said Villanueva told him that his earlier statement was merely based on “rumors” and was “baseless.”
“Earlier, I talked to General Raul Villanueva… he categorically told me that it was just a rumor and he had no basis to say it. He was actually surprised to learn that it became such a big issue,” Francisco told Super Radyo dzBB in Filipino.
The CIDG chief said Villanueva will make an announcement on Tuesday, presumably to recant or clarify his statement at last week’s Senate hearing.
It was not explained why the former chief of the Communications, Electronics, & Information Systems Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) would make such reckless statements before Senators.
During his testimony before the Senate Committee on Women, Children, and Family Relations, Villanueva said an ex-PNP chief took monthly bribes from Guo and may have helped her flee the country.
Meanwhile, another retired PNP chief challenged Villanueva to name the top cop who supposedly received monthly “payola” from Guo and her alleged network of illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
Retired Police Director General Nicanor Bartolome said that it is not only national police chiefs appointed by the Duterte administration that are being tainted, but even those who were appointed a long time ago.
In a statement, former PNP chiefs who call themselves the “Council of Chiefs” demanded clarification or an apology from the retired military intelligence officer.
It can be recalled that Villanueva told Senators about the supposed existence of a rouge PNP chief, saying this came from the intelligence pipeline but was yet to be validated.
Editor’s Note: An earlier edition of this story identified retired Brigadier General Raul Villanueva as former chief of the Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP). This error has been corrected.
