MANILA, Philippines – Tinulungan umano ng dating Cabinet official ang ilang illegal na Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) para mabigyan ng lisensya, inihayag ng Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) nitong Sabado, Hunyo 29.
Sa pahayag, sinabi ng PAGCOR na “a former high ranking government official tried to facilitate the grant of gaming licenses to some of the illegal POGOs that have been recently raided and found engaged in illegal activities.”
Ani PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco, ibubulgar niya sa tamang forum ang pagkakakilanlan ng dating Cabinet member.
Ikikwento niya rin umano ang pagkakataon kung kailan nagsimula ang pagkalat ng mga illegal at kriminal na offshore gaming operations sa bansa.
Sinabi pa ni Tengco na iniimbestigahan na rin ng mga awtoridad ang mga kahina-hinalang aktibidad ng mga dating POGO licensees at ang naging ambag ng mga dating opisyal para mabigyan ng lisensya ang mga aplikante ng POGO na may kaduda-dudang background.
“As a regulator, it is our mandate to ensure that only those with valid licenses are allowed to operate all forms of gambling and gaming activities, whether these are land-based casinos or online platforms,” anang opisyal.
“It is in the interest of the government to crack the whip against illegal operators, including the so-called offshore gaming operators or POGOs and their backers, because the criminal activities associated with their illegal operations pose serious threats to our people,” dagdag pa niya.
Siniguro naman ng PAGCOR chief na ginagawa ng kasalukuyang administrasyon ang makakaya nito upang mabura ang mga illegal operator, na nagresulta sa malaking pagbaba ng bilang ng mga licensees mula 298 sa nakaraang administrasyon sa 43 licensees na lamang ngayon.
“What we need to question, in the first place, was how those 298 POGO licensees were able to secure their licensees in the past because clearly, during our cleansing process, we found most of them to be ineligible and outright suspicious,” sinabi ni Tengco.
“We are also ready to reveal the roles of other controversial individuals behind these criminal POGO enterprises,” dagdag niya.
Nauna nang nagbabala ang Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) at Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) na maaaring magamit sa 2025 polls ang pera mula sa mga illegal na aktibidad ng ilang POGO firms. RNT/JGC
