EDITORIAL
When two Chinese warships docked in Cambodia last May 19 as part of the biggest-ever joint military drills between Chinese and Cambodian military, the Chinese ambassador to Phnom Penh Wang Wentian said, "We are ironclad friends."
Ambassador Wang must be thinking of Joe Biden, making a parody that has shades of insult, criticizing the American leader's fascination with the adjective "ironclad," which is being aped by many other US officials in the diplomatic service.
Look: Within the same hour that President Biden assured Netanyahu that the friendship between the US and Israel is "ironclad," the American president talked with PH President Bongbong Marcos and also reiterated the strength of PH-US relations as "ironclad."
They are running out of adjectives in the White House.
Whatever, the "ironclad" friendship between China and Cambodia is evident in that Cambodia has long been a staunch ally of the Middle Kingdom.
The training ship Qijiguang and amphibious warfare ship Jinggangshan docked at Sihanoukville before the start of their very own version of our Balikatan 2024.
Some 1,300 Cambodian military personnel and 11 Cambodian vessels were joined by 760 Chinese soldiers and navy officers in 15 days of military and maritime exercises.
"Bring peace and friendship to meet good friends," was the message painted on a banner displayed by the training ship.
This anecdote isn't apocryphal, this is true. When Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Hun Sen, he requested the Cambodian leader to stop the operation of offshore gaming in Cambodia. To this, Hun Sen said "yes" and dutifully complied.
Next, President Xi met with then Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and made the same request. Please stop all POGO operations in the Philippines. It is bad because Chinese money is being squandered for non-productive uses abroad. Duterte said he'll think about it, and proceeded to decline Xi Jinping's request. Who says Digong is China's stooge?
The latest news on POGO is that this non-productive economic activity that produces no commodity at all but allows the transfer of large amounts of money through the Internet has a new name. It is no longer Philippine offshore gaming operator. It now answers to the nomenclature IGL — internet gaming licensees.
PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco has announced this change of name and acronym in an exclusive interview with global gaming industry publication Inside Asian Gaming at the Global Gaming Expo summit in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The question begs to be asked: Why did Duterte reject the well-meaning and valid request of President Xi? And when President Bongbong Marcos took over the helm of PH government, why did he retain POGOs, even against the advice of his finance team?
The answer might be money. The revenues the government through PAGCOR is receiving from the POGO business.
Gaming’s record high revenues usually reach P285.27 billion a year, with POGOs contributing a huge chunk of this number. PAGCOR is now beefing up the list of legal and legitimate POGOs or IGLs, which is its way of cooperating and supporting the initiative of law enforcement agencies such as the CIDG and the PAOCC to close illegal and criminal establishments using POGOs as front.
In a listing issued last week, PAGCOR said it released the licenses of 40 regular IGLs and nine provisional IGLs. Last August, the gaming regulator announced that all POGOs will be required to reapply for licenses that will involve having to comply with revised regulations for offshore gaming operators — the Internet Gaming Licensing Regulations that took effect on July 12, 2023.
Meanwhile, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a measure seeking to outlaw operations of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or IGLs in the country as criminal activities linked to the industry continue to rise.
“The main goal is ultimately to outlaw and prohibit offshore gaming operations in the country. While the POGO industry has brought in revenue and jobs, the country has grappled with a surge in POGO-related crimes, raising concerns about the overall impact on the industry,” Gatchalian said.
Sherwin, take a bow.
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