Romualdez vows to push for measures vs people behind Pogo crimes
POGO WORKERS composite image from Inquirer file and stock photos
MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has promised to push for measures seeking to hold people behind illegal activities in Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo) hubs accountable.
During a press briefing in Porac, Pampanga on Monday, Romualdez said they would not have had any problem with Pogos if the operators followed the laws.
However, investigations by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) ensued after illegal activities were found to have links to Pogos.
“Of course, there are accountabilities, right? Before there was an EO (executive order), we had a law for the collection of taxes from Pogos, as long as you follow the rules and regulations or the law itself. But the administration of President [Ferdinand] Marcos [Jr.] directed the Pagcor chairperson to enforce and coordinate with law enforcement agencies amid reports of illegal activities,” Romualdez said.
“So they worked hard on it and many illegal activities were uncovered…Those who are accountable have to face the law, those who have been displaced, the government will have to accommodate so long as they are not complicit with any illegal activities,” he added.
Romualdez also said that Pogos “blossomed” during the Duterte administration, and House panels probing Pogos “were able to prove that.”
“Congress actually came up with a law so that it could be regulated for the purpose of collecting taxes as well. But now, we can see that illegal activities increased, and it was used as a front,” he explained.
“So the President wanted to remove all fronts to expose issues,” he added.
Romualdez and other House officials like Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. and committee chairpersons Santa Rosa Rep. Dan Fernandez, Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers stopped by the Zun Yuan Pogo hub in Bamban, Tarlac, and the Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga on Monday.
During the inspection, equipment supposedly used for the games, SIM cards, baseball bats, and other documents were presented. Several possible uniforms of foreign military officers were also seen during the visit.
After inspecting the Pogo hub in Porac, House officials went to Empire 999 Realty Corp. in Mexico, Pampanga, where P3.6 billion worth of shabu was seized by authorities last year.
House panels have been probing issues related to Pogos, illegal drugs, and alleged extrajudicial killings.
The Committee on Dangerous Drugs chaired by Barbers initially investigated two anti-drug operations in Pampanga, including a controlled delivery where drugs from the Port of Subic were tracked down into a warehouse in Mexico town allegedly owned by Empire 999 Realty Corp.
READ: P3.6-B worth of shabu seized in Pampanga warehouse
The warehouse was allegedly controlled by a certain Willie Ong, whom the House panel found to have ties to Lincoln Ong, who is involved in the Pharmally scandal.
READ: Owner of warehouse storing drugs used fake identity, says Barbers
READ: Gov’t to seize 320 properties worth billions from Chinese drug lords
On the other hand, the Committee on Public Order and Safety headed by Fernandez found that a worker named Dylan was sold by a Chinese friend to the operator of the Pogo hub in Bamban for P300,000.
READ: Rescued Malaysian testifies Chinese sold him to Bamban Pogo for P300,000
Last Aug. 1, Fernandez presented a matrix showing key personalities being linked to the Pogos and drug operations in Central Luzon.
READ: Solons’ matrix links Yang, Pharmally to Pampanga warehouse owners, drugs
The crackdown on Pogos comes after Marcos announced in his third State of the Nation Address that all of these games are banned, citing the problems that Pogos brought to the country.
READ: Marcos: ‘All Pogos are banned!’
