Washington in the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty has regarded its obligation to defend the Philippines in case of conflict with China, a claim which some believe to be only on paper
In my previous columns, I wrote if we consider the social costs with the revenues the government is getting from POGOs or the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, it would be stupid for government to be continuing with the POGOs, aside from the fact that China itself outlaws gambling, Santa Banana!
This is only one of the reasons why there is a need to end the reign of POGOs in the country.
Is the country so desperate for money to have POGOs, whose contribution to the GDP or Gross Domestic Product is hardly one percent?
Note that Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and National Economic Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan are both in favor of banning POGOs.
That’s on the revenue side.
As I said, the social costs far outweigh everything the Philippines would like to have, like rein in investments and foreign tourism.
In a study on the operations of POGOs, which are legal without counting that there are so many POGOs operating illegally, it has been validated no less that 99 POGO-related cases of kidnapping-for-ransom, human trafficking and detention were recorded by the police since 2017 as proof the gaming sector’s ills far outweigh the benefits the country is having with the continued existence of POGOs.
The worst aspect of the existence of POGOs is the entry not only of undocumented mainland Chinese because of a corrupt Bureau of Immigration, but the existence of China’s crime syndicates which have made the Philippines their playground, victimizing their fellow Chinese from the mainland.
And if crime syndicates enter the Philippines, it is not far to conclude that illegal drugs are also being smuggled.
Note that even today the big amounts of illegal drugs being seized by the police prove that illegal drugs from China continue to be smuggled.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee had, by a majority vote, recommended the total ban of POGOs, giving only three months to phase out.
While there are those who fear that office space, condos and housing being occupied by POGO workers, mostly Chinese, will constitute loss of revenue, Colliers International has found the adverse effect is minimal.
If there are workers that would lose their jobs, the Department of Labor also found a minimal amount of Filipino workers would be affected.
The social costs of the continued existence of POGOs cannot be underestimated.
Other countries around us do not have offshore gaming operations.
And China itself does not favor gambling.
Why then are we stupid enough to host POGOs considering all the arguments against their existence?
Floating barriers
As ordered by President Marcos Jr., the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources started removing the floating buoyed-up barriers some 300 meters long made by China’s Coast Guard at the Bajo de Masinloc waterway (Scarborough Shoal) within the Exclusive Economic Zone considered by the Philippines as within our sovereignty and national territory.
Chinese Coast Guard vessels had laid those barriers to stop Filipino fisherfolk from entering the area, known as the favorite fishing ground of Filipino fisherfolk west of Zambales some 200 nautical miles off Philippine shores.
The action by China is considered illegal and illegitimate under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and International Law.
In fact, Santa Banana, this was made clear by the Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016, which not only outlawed the 9-Dash Line, now 10-Dash Line claim by China for the whole South China Sea.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are involved with China in the conflicts in the South China Sea which has long been regarded as a potential Asian flashpoint and delicate faultline in the US-China rivalry in the region.
The right of countries within their Exclusive Economic Zone had been upheld by the Arbitral Court as far back as 2016 and likewise by UNCLOS.
Recall that China’s Coast Guards and marine militia vessels have also blocked Philippine Coast Guard and other vessels whose only mission was to resupply the provisions of a platoon of Filipino marine soldiers stationed at a grounded and rusty World War II ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, and committed some dangerous acts like pointing a military laser and water cannons at Philippine vessels.
US obligation
Washington in the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty has regarded its obligation to defend the Philippines in case of conflict with China, a claim which some believe to be only on paper.
Last Monday, the ambassador of the European Union to the Philippines warned that deploying floating barriers in Bajo de Masinloc will endanger the livelihood of Filipino fishermen.
The question now is how China will react to the removal of those barriers.
That remains to be seen which, up to this moment, as this column is written, we can only speculate.
Personally, what BBM did was right and legitimate, in the removal of those floating barriers.
China has done its worst at the Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal area by harvesting and destroying corals, the sanctuary of marine life.
Now, these barriers depriving Filipino fisherfolk of their livelihood is just too much.
Holy Land trip
A friend of mine texted me he and his family are enjoying their trip to the Holy Land.
I can only recall our first trip to the Holy Land (my wife and I have visited the Holy Land twice years ago, I can no longer remember when.)
It was an all-expenses paid trip, including airfare and accommodations, by a group of travel agents.
I was then chairman of a travel agency — Metrolink Travel and Tours – and I went along with my wife with a group of mostly female travel agents.
I recall we were only three men , Ado Escudero, Jonvic Remulla, now Cavite governor, who accompanied his mother, Ditas Remulla, and myself.
We took Egyptair to Tel Aviv and, in Jerusalem, we traced the Via Crucis of Jesus Christ until Calvary.
Then we visited that place where the Last Supper was done, and we visited Nazareth,and the Sea of Galilee.
Santa Banana, we even went to the Dead Sea , the lowest place on earth.
Then we went to Egypt and traced that place where Saint Joseph took the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Baby Jesus when they fled from Bethlehem when Herod ordered all newborn baby boys up to two years old to be killed, called Holy Innocents Day.
It was said, Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary spent some time in Egypt until Jesus was able to walk.
When we went to Bethlehem, which is in Palestine territory, to pay homage to the birthplace of Christ, we were given the royal treatment by our Palestinian host.
It was a very memorable trip, I must say. I promised my wife we will visit the Holy Land again . From the Holy Land, we went to Rome and visited the Vatican.
To my readers, try to go to the Holy Land in your lifetime, a trip you will never regret.
As I said, my wife and I took a second trip and even visited Jewish communes.
A trip to the Holy Land will never be complete without an overnight stay at a commune.
In addition to a Holy land trip, take a Marian pilgrimage to experience the places where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared and where the saints lived.
But I suggest that any trip to the Holy land or Marian pilgrimage should be accompanied by a well-qualified cleric who can help pilgrims with historical facts and spiritual guidance.
You will never regret it, I promise you.