PAMPANGA, Philippines – The roads of Porac, Pampanga are peppered with green tarpaulins, from small to large ones, bearing the name of an apparent crowd favorite, Jaime “Jing” V. Capil, seeking a comeback to the municipal hall where former subordinates claim it was him who “concealed” the operations of what turned out to be a massive scam farm.
Capil, a mayor of Porac since 2019, was dismissed by the Ombudsman on April 4, a punishment that carries perpetual disqualification. But Capil said he is prepared to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, and that “tuloy ang inyong mayor sa eleksiyon, tuloy ang 10-0 (your mayor will carry on in the elections, a 10-0 sweep will be done),” referring to his 10-person slate composed of his daughter Jen running for vice mayor, and eight councilors.
The local election code only disqualifies a candidate who’s been convicted by final judgment. An administrative penalty of perpetual disqualification was another way, but the way our justice system is set up has allowed public officials like Capil to continue running and hold office, while they appeal their cases — in some instances, taking years.
A quick scan around town shows a preference for Capil. The residents Rappler talked to all mentioned Capil as their choice of mayor, also fondly called by his initials “JVC.” When we asked why, they said look around — concrete roads, lampposts, a hospital, a mini park, they credit these all to him.
That he had been dismissed for gross neglect of duty for allowing a scam farm, where prostitution and trafficking allegedly thrived, won’t change their minds.
“Kahit may nangyaring ganun, wala na po akong ano sa mga bagay na ganun, ang importante ay ‘yung nagawa niyang mabuti, ‘yun ang mahalaga (Even if something like that happened, things like that are nothing…what’s important is the good he’s done, that’s what’s important),” said a resident named John.
Another resident whom we chanced upon buying food at a local eatery does not believe that Capil was accountable for the scam farm. “My own observation, siyempre nasa mababang lebel siya, eh sino ba ang nasa taas?” said Danilo Calma. So nagamit lang siya I guess (My own observation, of course he’s of a lower level, so who’s higher? I guess he was just used.)
Capil has not responded to Rappler’s requests, via text and call, to interview him for this story. We also sent an email to Jen Capil’s public address.
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A meeting at Cioccolo
Capil’s first-term win in 2019 was a feat because he defeated Mark Lapid by a landslide, a household name by virtue of his father, the actor and Senator Lito Lapid. Mark was also former Pampanga governor.
Porac is a first class municipality, and a promising site for development. Away from the busy roads, the big white municipal hall stands alone in an empty, open field. In his first full year as mayor, Capil boasted of his accomplishments to state auditors, among them an elementary school and roofing for the market.
But there was something else that he did. In October 2019, Capil took his councilors to a cafe called Cioccolo, which stands by the Angeles City entrance of the sprawling Thai Royal Court compound. At the cafe, Capil introduced the councilors to the compound owner, local businessman Ruperto Cruz, and the young savvy businesswoman Cassandra Ong, according to the counter-affidavit of Capil’s former vice mayor, and now mayoralty rival, Charlie Santos. Capil does not deny meeting Ong.
Ong has been accused of colluding with the disgraced Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo of designing and establishing scam farms by exploiting regulatory frameworks. Ong, however, has been cleared of money laundering charges related to the Bamban scam farm. She still faces separate complaints for the Porac case.
A month after the cafe meeting, Ong went to the municipal office to apply for a Letter of No Objection (LONO), an LGU requirement by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) to set up a POGO (Philippine offshore gaming operator) hub. The POGO would later become the infamous Lucky South 99, a 10-hectare compound of 48 buildings within the Cruz-owned estate, and which allegedly operated a massive scam farm.
After Ong applied for the LONO, the Sangguniang Bayan held a meeting at the Fortune Seafood restaurant in Clark, and there they agreed to unanimously approve the LONO. Capil was the final signatory of the LONO. But the LONO dated November 5, 2019, indicated that Lucky South 99 is a BPO or Business Process Outsourcing provider, and not a POGO, according to a copy obtained by Rappler.
Capil granted a business permit to Lucky South, the BPO, in 2020; and in 2021, he renewed the permit for Lucky South, the POGO. Capil claimed in his affidavits that his issuance of mayor’s permits to Lucky South was a ministerial task, and that there was good faith assumption that it was already vetted by the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO).
“It is only upon the BPLO’s recommendation that he affixes his signature thereon,” says the Ombudsman resolution, citing Capil’s claims.
But the BPLO acting head, Emerald Vital, disputed the claim that she had ever recommended approving Lucky South’s permits. Vital said her role was merely to check whether the documents were complete, and to assess fees and taxes. Vital said there was no “concrete evidence which could show that she recommended or caused the issuance of mayor’s business permits in favor of Lucky South 99.”
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‘Mayor Capil systematically and methodically concealed POGO’
In fact, said Vital, she was part of an inspection team that recommended to Capil as early as 2020 that Lucky South’s permit be revoked because it was “operating as POGO without proper authority.”
“Following the submission of the report to Mayor Capil, she received no further instruction. She opines that Mayor Capil is in the best position to explain why no action was taken on the Joint Inspection Team’s recommendation,” said the resolution, citing Vital’s affidavit.
“[Santos] claims that Mayor Capil systematically and methodically concealed POGO operation in Porac. He was fully aware that the LONO issued to Lucky South 99 was for BPO and not POGO,” said the resolution.
In a clarificatory hearing, Capil “admitted having previous knowledge that while initially, Lucky South 99’s applications for LONO and business permit were for BPO operations, their operations would eventually evolve to POGO,” said the resolution.
The Ombudsman absolved everyone else in the municipal office, except Capil whom it charged of gross neglect of duty, deserving to be stripped of retirement benefits. The resolution says Capil cannot escape accountability by claiming that the questionable acts were delegated tasks to subordinates, as the Ombudsman said the former mayor himself acted “as principal by direct participation.”
“Hindi po ito pinal, marami pa po tayong legal remedies…. Sa akin pong mga ka-Poraqueño, tayo po ay patuloy lang na magtiwala at sumuporta, at magdasal, tuloy po ang ating laban,” he told local news outlet iOrbit News Online.
(This is not final, we have many legal remedies…. To my fellow Poraqueños, let’s continue to trust and support, and pray. Our fight continues.)
‘Voice of the people, voice of God’
After a raid on the Lucky South compound in June 2024, anti-organized crime authorities said the Porac ring leaders appeared more dangerous and ruthless. An inventory of baseball bats that they alleged to have been used for torture were kept in a neat line inside the mess hall. The second floor housed pleasure rooms. Stripper heels, kinky outfits, and unused condoms were scattered on the floor with the shattered glass.
Ong, who was detained by prodding lawmakers for months, insisted there were no torture chambers. A criminal complaint for trafficking against her, her Chinese big bosses who are now nowhere to be found, and against Harry Roque, are still pending before prosecutors. (Roque was dragged into the case for helping Ong set up meetings with Pagcor to renew their POGO license.)
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According to Porac police, they wrote Capil in July 2021 to inform him “of suspected illegal activities such as serious illegal detention, cyber-related criminal activities, prostitution, and illegal drugs involving Chinese nationals in the business premises of Lucky South 99.” Capil said this July 2021 letter never reached him.
Police again wrote in August 2023, and Capil responded by sending an inspection team to the premises but it “yielded negative result of any criminal activity.” For the Ombudsman, all of the evidence from the cafe meeting and his not acting on his own staff’s recommendation to revoke the permit, are proof of Capil’s “subtle collaboration” with bad guys.
“These significant and undisputed circumstances happened under the close watch of Mayor Capil as overall administrator of Porac LGU which clearly demonstrated his predisposition to favor the grant and continued operation of Lucky South 99 as POGO in Porac at all costs despite the unfavorable odds against it,” said the resolution.
Vendor Marissa Sanchez said she was deeply affected by the news of dismissal. “Hindi ako makatulog, pray, pray (I couldn’t sleep, I just prayed and prayed),” said Sanchez. Jerlie Estabillo calls Capil her “love-love” for cleaning and getting rid of the bad odor of her barangay.
“Wala pong katotohanan ang paratang, nalulungkot po ako pero I love Jing Capil (There’s no truth to the accusations, I am so sad but I love Jing Capil),” said Estabillo.
Criminal complaints of graft have been filed against Capil, a separate proceeding at the Department of Justice. But if the public outpouring of love is any indication, Capil may just win another term as mayor, even in the shadow of an exploitative scam farm.
“Meron nga pong kasabihan na (there’s a saying) vox populi, vox dei — the voice of the people is the voice of God,” he said.
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– Rappler.com