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‘POGOs have introduced innumerable and unspeakable social ills into the nation. I commend the President for his resolute pronouncement,’ says opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros
It was positively the spotlight of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s third State of the Nation Handle (SONA). Simply once we thought the speech, which was working for about an hour and 20 minutes already, would maintain its unexciting supply of the President’s accomplishment report, he mentioned it: “Efficient at this time, all POGOs are banned.”
A number of seconds earlier than that, nevertheless, Marcos already received a standing ovation from lawmakers when he prefaced the subject with the crimes that Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) had been accountable for.
“Disguising as professional entities, their operations have ventured into illicit areas furthest from gaming corresponding to monetary scamming, cash laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even homicide. The grave abuse and disrespect to our system of legal guidelines should cease,” the President mentioned to cheers from the Home of Consultant plenary corridor.
So guess who was among the many lawmakers who rose to their ft? Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros, whose committee has uncovered exactly these POGO-linked crimes in a nonetheless ongoing investigation. She known as it an enormous victory for the whole nation.
“Bilang tagapangulo ng Senate committee on ladies na nanguna sa imbestigasyon tungkol sa mga krimeng nakakabit sa POGO, hindi ko matatawaran ang saya at ginhawa ng pagpapabawal ng POGO sa bansa,” Hontiveros mentioned in an announcement after the SONA.
(As chairperson of the Senate committee on ladies, which spearheaded the investigation into crimes linked to POGO, I’m overjoyed and can’t be extra relieved by this ban on POGOs from the nation.)
“POGOs have introduced innumerable and unspeakable social ills into the nation. I commend the President for his resolute pronouncement,” she added.
Saying he had heard public clamor in opposition to POGOs, Marcos instructed the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Company “to wind down and stop the operations of POGOs by the tip of the yr.”
The President and Hontiveros had been on the identical web page as to what occurs or may be carried out subsequent:
- To make sure that Filipinos employed by POGOs might be given various jobs
- For everybody — from legislation enforcers and authorities officers to unusual Filipinos — to “be vigilant, principled” (Marcos) so insurance policies might be in place to “stop industries like POGOs from ever rising once more” (Hontiveros).
- The ban is only a first step in an extended technique of fixing the various governance, financial, and societal issues that led POGOs to flourish within the Philippines.
The senator mentioned her committee will proceed its hearings, at the same time as she thanked the victims, survivors, whistleblowers, and authorities businesses that cooperated within the Senate probe. “We owe you this victory,” she mentioned.
And to POGOs each authorized and unlawful, Hontiveros had this to say: “Goodbye.” – Rappler.com
