The Philippine Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality is set to hold another inquiry on July 10th following reports of a former cabinet official’s alleged involvement in issuing licenses to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
According to the Philippine News Agency, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros revealed that Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco has been invited to the hearing to shed light on his previous statement.
Tengco had claimed that a former high-ranking government official from the previous administration “tried to facilitate the grant of gaming licenses to some illegal POGOs that have been raided”.
“We are calling a next hearing and I hope the PAGCOR chief deems it the right forum to reveal what he knows. Whoever the ex-cabinet official turns out to be, the fact remains: POGOs are being used as a legal cover for scam hubs,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
The committee has been investigating several illegal POGO operations in the country, including the latest raided hubs in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga. Hontiveros noted that previous Senate hearings have proven that, while PAGCOR has issued legal licenses, criminal activities are still occurring in POGOs.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian stressed that PAGCOR must disclose all information and personalities involved in illegal POGO operations. “Government officials involved in illegal and criminal activities must be held accountable,” he said.
Meanwhile, Senate President Francis Escudero also called for the unmasking of the former official in the next hearing if he is found to have violated the law, to prevent all former “high-ranking cabinet officials from being viewed with suspicion.”
