Congressmen urge POGO ban
CONGRESSMEN urged the government on Monday to ban Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) due to the criminal activities linked to its operations.
Lawmakers reiterated their call to outlaw offshore gaming operations after authorities reportedly found torture victims within the premises of a POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga last week.
“These POGOs contributed heavily to the deterioration of our moral fiber. They are fronts to Chinese-led criminal syndicates [engaged in] illegal activities that gave rise to murder, kidnapping for ransom, rape, prostitution, torture,” Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers said in a statement.
Senators last week called for the government to consider POGOs as a threat to national security, calling to put a stop to its operations in the country.
The recent raids on POGO compounds in Porac and Bamban, Tarlac province show proof that offshore gaming operations have “become fronts for illegal activities” including money laundering, illegal immigration, prostitution, extortion, and kidnapping, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez said in a separate statement.
4,039 victims have fallen prey to POGO-related crimes such as human trafficking in the first half of last year, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said last October.
There were around 60 POGO-related killings recorded last year, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) told before a Senate panel in May.
“The negative, evil, and harmful effects of POGOs on society far outweigh the revenue they bring in,” Mr. Rodriguez said in a separate statement. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio