The CIDG is taking heavy blows after discovering that P13.45 million in cash seized from a 2024 POGO raid in Bataan had allegedly been swapped out for fake bills — with six officers and one former unit chief now in the hot seat. CIDG Director Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II confirmed the internal implosion on Tuesday, detailing how part of the ₱141.13 million recovered from the Bagac “scam hub” mysteriously turned into “boodle money” by the time investigators opened the evidence boxes.
According to Morico, each of the six CIDG personnel who handled the evidence is suspected to have taken a cut — ranging from ₱1.3 million to ₱4.5 million, prompting the PNP to file a barrage of criminal complaints including qualified theft, malversation, falsification, and illegal possession of fake currency. They now face administrative cases for grave misconduct, dishonesty, evidence mishandling, and conduct prejudicial to the service. All six have been placed under restrictive custody at Camp Crame.
The scandal deepened when it was revealed that the man once entrusted with the boxes — former CIDG Anti-Organized Crime Unit chief Lt. Col. Joey Arandia — allegedly took the evidence home. Morico said the boxes stayed outside CIDG headquarters until Arandia returned them on October 21. The unit only opened them once a court order was issued in November — and that’s when the missing millions were discovered.
Arandia, now assigned to the PNP Task Force to Dismantle Private Armed Groups, denied responsibility for the missing money, saying only ₱112 million was ever under his custody. Meanwhile, Central One’s legal counsel declined to comment.