SENATOR Risa Hontiveros is determined to push her inquiry on the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) issue pending President Marcos’ order for a total ban of the POGOs.
As this developed, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines welcomed the President’s decision to ban the POGOs in the country.
Hontiveros said the hearings will resume on Monday notwithstanding the absence of Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo who was at the center of the raging POGO controversy.
“It’s not over yet,” said Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality.
She said they wanted to establish culpability of persons behind the illicit operations of POGOs involved in money laundering, scams, human trafficking, kidnapping, and other crimes.
On the defiance of the mayor or Guo Hua Ping to attend the Senate hearings, Hontiveros disclosed her panel was investigating not just Guo, but the whole POGO industry as well.
Joint operatives from Office of the Senate sergeant-at-arms and the Philippine National Police (PNP) armed with an arrest order signed by Senate President Francis Escudero failed to find Guo and her family members and the other ‘resource’ persons.
They were all charged with contempt for failing to show up in the Senate POGO hearings. Guo and her parents and three siblings have been embroiled in the POGO operations in Bamban and Porac, Tarlac.
Nancy Gamo, accountant of Guo, who remains in the Senate custody, will attend the resumption of the POGO hearing.
While POGO operations have been banned, Hontiveros said it is the Senate’s oversight function to guarantee that the phase-out will be enforced and hold liable those linked to the illegal operations, give justice to victim-survivors, and secure just transition to displaced Filipino POGO workers
“We also need to ensure that our regulatory failures are addressed,” Hontiveros said, adding that multiple government institutions have been corrupted by the POGOs.
“We believe this decision echoes the call of the Philippine people and serves the common interests of people of both countries,” the Chinese embassy noted.
The embassy also said the ban fosters safer well-being for both nations, emphasizing that Chinese law prohibits all forms of gambling, including POGO, due to its association with “serious crimes and grave harm to the interests of both Philippine and Chinese peoples.”
“The Chinese government strictly cracks down on Chinese citizens engaging in overseas gambling businesses including POGO,” the embassy added.
“In line with this commitment, China is ready to continue its strong law enforcement cooperation with the Philippines and better protect the safety and well-being of the two peoples,” it said.
