The House Committee of Public Order and Safety chaired by Sta. Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez, in a joint hearing with the Committee on Games and Amusements chaired by Cavite Rep. Antonio Ferrer, resumed on Tuesday their motu proprio inquiry into the proliferation of criminal activities and unlawful acts linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGOs.
At the opening of the third regular session on Monday, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez vowed that the House of Representatives will not cease its conduct of congressional investigations, zeroing in on illegal POGOs and illegal drugs.
Moreover, on his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced the ban on POGOs effective by the end of this year.
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on and do nothing,” Fernandez stated in his opening remarks, reminding the joint committee members of the President’s final quotes in the SONA.
Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop and Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano focused on the legislative power of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) on the franchise authorization of POGOs, which is not explicit in both Republic Act 11590 and Executive Order No. 13.
Acop also noted the prevention of illegal POGOs from entering Export Processing Zones, such as in Cagayan, Apeco and Bataan.
“PAGCOR is given until the end of the year for the winding up of the POGO operations together with the Department of Interior and Local Government, by the President,” he said.
Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales, Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro asked incumbent Porac, Pampanga Mayor Jaime Capil of his command responsibility in the granting of ownership permits to Lucky Star 99.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers highlighted the lax telecommunications laws on SIM card distributions that allow POGO scamming to thrive.
He and Fernandez showed the connection of illegal POGOs to drug operations, citing wanted drug lord and owner of Empire 999 Micheal Yang’s brother as part of Alice Guo’s 36 bank account recipients.
In a separate hearing of the Committee on Public Order and Safety conducted earlier, 1-RIDER Party-list Rep. Bonifacio Bosita, Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. and Acop called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) to stop the abuse in authority in the implementation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.
The hearing delved into the proliferation of illegal buy-bust operations involving officers of the PNP Regional Office 4-A or Calabarzon
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