House OKs reso tasking panels to jointly probe Pogo, drugs, EJK issues

House of Representatives plenary. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has adopted a resolution tasking four committees to jointly probe different but intertwined issues – illegal activities linked to Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo), the presence of illegal drugs, and the alleged rights violations in the drug war.

During the session on Tuesday, House Resolution (HR) No. 1880 was adopted via viva voce or voice voting, directing the following panels to investigate these issues:

• committee on dangerous drugs
• committee on public order and safety
• committee on human rights
• committee on public accounts

Privilege speeches and resolutions concerning the said issues, which were previously lodged with the four committees, were referred to the joint panel.

The adoption of HR No. 1880 comes after Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. delivered a privilege speech during Monday’s session, highlighting the importance of a coordinated approach to pressing issues faced by the country today.

Gonzales was referring to the investigations done by the following House panels on key issues:

• committee on dangerous drugs — investigation on the warehouse used to store illegal substances in Mexico, Pampanga, which was revealed to be owned by a company headed by a Chinese nationals with links to other companies like the Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.
• committee on public order and safety and committee on games and amusements — investigation on the alleged illegal activities linked to Pogos
• committee on human rights —  investigation on the alleged human rights violations and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the drug war
• committee on public accounts — anomalous transactions involving the local government of Mexico, Pampanga

The committee on dangerous drugs is headed by Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers; the public order and safety panel by Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez; the committee on human rights under Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr.; and the committee on public accounts, by Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano.

In his speech Gonzales said that while the committees were able to discuss pressing issues, there are intertwined topics and deferred discussions due to fear that it might be outside their boundaries.

Prior to Gonzales’ declaration, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez also said that a House Resolution asking that the committees mentioned be allowed to hold joint hearings is in the works.

Romualdez said this in a press briefing on Monday, after he, Gonzales, and some of the committee chairpersons inspected Pogo sites in Bamban, Tarlac, and in Porac, Pampanga.

During the session on Monday, Abante, 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez, Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, Quezon City 2nd District Rep. Patrick Michael Vargas, and Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua expressed their agreement with Gonzales’ proposal.

The committee on dangerous drugs initially conducted an investigation into two anti-drug operations in Pampanga — including a controlled delivery operation where drugs from the Port of Subic were tracked down into a warehouse in Mexico, owned by Empire 999 Realty Corp.

READ: P3.6-B worth of shabu seized in Pampanga warehouse 

After it was eventually revealed that the warehouse was owned by Empire 999 Realty Corporation, controlled by a certain Willie Ong, the committee dug deeper and found ties to Lincoln Ong, an individual involved in the Pharmally issue.

READ: Gov’t to seize 320 properties worth billions from Chinese drug lords 

The committee on public order and safety headed by Fernandez meanwhile started the probe on Pogos, where it was revealed that a worker named ‘Dylan’ was sold by a Chinese friend to the Bamban hub for P300,000.

Some of the names mentioned in the committee on dangerous drugs’ hearing also surfaced during the discussions on Pogo sites.

READ: Rescued Malaysian testifies Chinese sold him to Bamban Pogo for P300,000 

Last August 1, Fernandez presented a matrix crafted by the three committees, showing key personalities being linked to the Pogos and drug operations in Central Luzon.