FILE PHOTO: Local government units (LGUs) is being urged by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian to pass an ordinance banning Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) within their jurisdictions. | PHOTO: Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB
MANILA, Philippines — Local government units (LGUs) have been urged by a senator to pass an ordinance banning Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) within their jurisdictions.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday offered this unsolicited advice to local chief executives as recent raids sparked speculations that local leaders may have been allowing the operations of illegal offshore gaming firms.
“Ang payo ko sa ating mga local chief executives ay gumawa na ng ordinance para i-ban na ‘yung Pogos ng mga local government units dahil malalagay sila sa alanganin ‘pag nag-operate itong Pogo sa kanila eh,” he said in an interview over Radyo 630.
(My advice to our local chief executives is to pass an ordinance to ban Pogos as this will put them in a precarious situation once the Pogos start operating in their areas.)
READ: Pogo crackdown widens; ‘250 to 300’ not licensed
“Bigyan kayo ng halimbawa, itong sa Porac napakadaling gamitin na dahilan na ‘hindi ko alam ‘yung nangyayari dun’ pero mayor ka eh, kung hindi mo alam ‘yan malaking problema tayo sa patakbo sa iyong lugar,” the senator added.
(I’ll give you an example, in Porac, it’s very easy to use an excuse that you don’t know what’s happening there but you’re the mayor and you don’t know? Then we have a big problem on how you run your area)
The raid in Porac town in Pampanga province last June 4 was prompted by reports that Pogo firm Lucky South 99 Outsourcing Inc. was being used for human trafficking. More than 190 Filipino and foreign workers were rescued from that raid.
But Porac Mayor Jaime Capil was quick to dismiss speculations that he is a protector of the offshore gaming firm.
Meanwhile, Tarlac’s Bamban town Mayor Alice Guo was implicated in another illegal Pogo firm raided by authorities in March this year.
READ: Pogo raid in Pampanga yields suspected Chinese military uniforms, pins
Documentary evidence supposedly linking Guo to Zuan Yuan Technology Inc were reportedly found during the raid. Guo, however, repeatedly denied involvement in Pogo.
According to Gatchalian, LGUs may prohibit Pogos in their areas just like what his brother, Mayor Wes Gatchalian, did in Valenzuela City.
“Meron kaming Pogo ban ordinance dito sa Valenzuela,” he pointed out in a Viber message.
As chairman of the Senate committee on ways and means, the senator conducted a probe into the impact of offshore gaming operations in the country.
His committee later recommended the permanent banning of Pogos nationwide.