Manila, Philippines – Senators are pressing Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco to identify the former Cabinet official he hinted is connected to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
Sen. Joel Villanueva has demanded that the PAGCOR chief reveal the identity of the alleged official. “This is not show business, so there is no need for blind items. The people need to know the truth and to hold accountable those who are pushing our country into the quicksand of chaos,” Villanueva said in a text message.
Villanueva believes that Tengco’s disclosure could justify a permanent ban on POGOs in the country if it is proven that high-ranking officials were behind their proliferation. “They have infiltrated not only the business and gaming industries but also our government, allegedly with local and even high-ranking officials serving as their protectors,” Villanueva added.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III also emphasized the importance of revealing the person’s identity to prevent suspicion from falling on other former officials. “To be fair to all former Cabinet members, PAGCOR should reveal the identity of this person, so he or she can defend themselves,” Pimentel stated.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who has been investigating irregularities and abuses within POGOs and scam centers, plans to call for another hearing and hopes Tengco will attend to disclose what he knows. “Whoever that ex-Cabinet official turns out to be, the fact remains: POGOs are being used as a legal cover for scam hubs. Even with legal licenses from PAGCOR, criminal activities are still happening within POGOs,” Hontiveros said.
Tengco previously mentioned a significant decrease in the number of POGO licensees from 298 during the previous administration to only 43 currently. PAGCOR is also investigating the involvement of former officials in granting licenses to POGO applicants with dubious backgrounds.
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) is confident in their case against suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, citing successful raids on illegal POGO hubs in her town of Bamban, Tarlac, and in Porac, Pampanga. “We’re very confident that we got enough goods on Guo Hua Ping. She bastardized our system and we are going to make sure that we are going to throw everything at her,” PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio said, referring to Guo’s supposed actual name. Casio is positive they will capture high-value individuals who managed to escape from the Tarlac and Pampanga raids. “We may not have gotten them in Porac or Bamban, but at the end of the day we are certain that we are going to get them all,” Casio asserted.
Meanwhile, PAOCC is calling for a serious probe into the acquisition and rental of land in rice-producing provinces by some foreigners. “We are anxious about their real intentions. This could potentially affect our food security if they control the prices of basic commodities like rice,” Casio warned. He also raised national security concerns, noting that some lands being bought by foreign nationals are near enhanced defense agency sites. “We have to look at them seriously,” he added.