“We, the undersigned business groups, fully support the recommendation of DOF Secretary Ralph Recto and NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan for a total ban on POGOs,” the groups said in a statement yesterday.MANILA, Philippines — Business groups yesterday expressed support for a total ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators , which are being linked to illegal activities in the country.
The groups said there also social costs, with recent hearings illustrating that POGOs have been linked to involvement in crimes such as human trafficking, kidnapping and money laundering, among others. Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda, who chairs the House ways and means committee, suggested that the Chief Executive can do so by simply stating that the country’s law must be followed, when he delivers his third State of the Nation Address before joint Congress on Monday.
He is against the proposal to totally ban or shut down POGOs mainly because of the enormous taxes that the government generates from them, but he said going after the ones that engage in illegal activities would be ideal. The problem with POGOs, according to the lawmaker, is that the government was able to collect more taxes with only fewer of them, compared to those that mushroomed during the time of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
“Both Alice Guo and Guo Hua Ping’s names are included in the ILBO,” BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said after Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian stated that suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo might have left the country using her Chinese passport. Last July 13, the Senate issued warrants of arrest against Guo and seven others, namely Sheila Leal Guo, Wesley Leal Guo, Jian Zhong Guo, Seimen Guo and her suspected mother Wen Yi Lin, as well as Dennis Cunanan and Nancy Gamo. The respondents have been called to appear at the next committee hearing set on July 29.
“We cannot allow these rogue POGO operators to persist. It is imperative that we identify and unmask the masterminds and protectors behind these operations so they can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” House Speaker Martin Romualdez underscored. One of the rescued workers, a Malaysian who identified himself as Dylan, told the panel he was invited for dinner by a friend in Bamban because it was Chinese New Year. But he was, instead, sold to a POGO hub in Bamban for P300,000.
The resolution stated that the proliferation of these documents “posts a serious threat to national security.”
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