AMID mounting pressures from various sectors, President Marcos finally caved in as he made an indirect declaration of “war” against illegal offshore gaming firms breeding scam farms and other heinous crimes.
At the sidelines of the distribution of assistance to farmers adversely affected by the onslaught of the El Niño phenomenon, Marcos is imposing a whole-of-government approach in the crackdown on illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).
Aside from illegal POGOs, the President also cited the need to pin down illegal drug trade in the country.
“I also know that you are very concerned with criminality and illegal activities destroying peace in your community. I want you to know that we are paying attention to this and addressing this problem,” Marcos said.
To start with, the Palace chief executive announced the creation of a task force that would exclusively delve on illegal POGOs. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will take the lead, he added.
For the last nine years, POGOs have been linked to human trafficking, money laundering, tax evasion, prostitution, kidnapping, torture, bribery – and lately, espionage.
This year alone, the Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) raided several POGO facilities, including one situated in Bamban, Tarlac and another in Porac, Pampanga.
Authorities found common denominators on the Bamban and Porac POGO hubs for which several government personalities were dragged.
While Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan previously claimed that the POGO issue was not part of the President’s economic agenda, he finds it imperative to create more jobs for Filipinos working in offshore gaming firms.
“But I keep my view that our focus should be on generating high quality jobs, good jobs and not creating gambling jobs. I think that there are a lot of other opportunities for the country, for the economy and for our workers and we can focus on those,” he said at a Palace briefing.
In support of Balisacan’s vantage point, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said his agency has already commenced profiling of the workers to be affected by a POGO ban to determine what training and options can be offered to them.
On the part of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, he expressed willingness to recommend a ban on POGOs because of the issues surrounding the industry.
Previously, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who chairs the PAOCC, met with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian, where they committed to strengthen the fight against transnational crimes as the Marcos administration sustained its campaign to dismantle illegal offshore gambling hubs in the country.
The PAOCC has filed criminal complaints against two Chinese nationals in connection with the raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga.
The Chinese embassy in Manila has been urging the Philippine government to ban POGOs.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council has ordered financial institutions and government agencies to freeze the bank accounts and assets of suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo as well as those of two other persons for their alleged involvement in illegal POGO firms.
Marcos also assured the public that the government has remained resolute in its campaign against illegal drugs, adding that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is taking the lead in the anti-narcotics campaign, while the Bureau of Customs is in close coordination with other agencies to stop the shipment of illegal drugs to the country.
