Court orders arrest of Pampanga mayor

MANILA, Philippines — Mayor Jaime Capil of Porac town in Pampanga has been ordered arrested by a trial court in Pasig for seven counts of graft.

In the warrant of arrest issued on Nov. 28, the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 265 ordered law enforcers to take Capil into custody at the municipal hall or anywhere he may be found.

Capil can post bail, which the court set at P90,000.

The mayor was dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman in April 2025 for gross neglect of duty over his alleged failure to act against illegal operations of Lucky South 99, a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Porac.

Despite the dismissal order, Capil won as mayor in the May 12 elections.

However, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) disqualified Capil a few days later, saying the mayor could no longer seek reelection, and ordered the votes cast in his favor to be considered stray.

“One who is removed from office as a result of an administrative case is disqualified from running for any local elective position,” the Comelec had said.

The charges of seven counts of graft stemmed from the complaint filed by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and Philippine National Police in October 2024 over Capil’s alleged involvement in the POGO operations of Lucky South 99, which was raided in June 2024.

The raid allowed authorities to uncover alleged human trafficking, torture and other illegal activities inside the POGO hub’s 10-hectare compound.

According to the arrest warrant, Capil is charged with violating Sections 3(e) and 3(j) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Section 3(e) penalizes any act that causes “undue injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference… through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.”

It specifically applies to officials involved in issuing licenses, permits or concessions.

Section 3(j) punishes “knowingly approving or granting any license, permit, privilege or benefit” to a person not legally entitled to it, including approvals given to a representative or “dummy” acting for an unqualified individual.