POGO posibleng gamit sa ilegal na droga — Solon

PINAIIMBESTIGAHAN ni Surigao del Sur Rep. Robert Ace Barbers ang operasyon ng Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) sa posibleng paggamit nito sa ilegal na kalakaran sa droga.

Ayon kay Barbers, chairman ng House com­mittee on dangerous drugs, dapat tingnan ng mga awtoridad ang POGOs dahil posible itong magamit sa money-laundering ng drug money.

“However, this requires a deep, pro­found and perhaps long and tedious inves­tiga­tion,” ani Barbers.

Aniya, sa inves­tiga­tive reports at sa mga pag-aaral ng United Nations nagpakita na, “these groups created their own online gaming firms and used them as a money-laundering tool.”

Sinabi ni Barbers, ganito ang ginagawa ng Italian mafia at drug syndicates mula sa Macau at Cambodia.

Ayon kay Barbers, dapat tingnang mabuti ang operasyon ng ‘colorum’ na POGOs dahil sa 46 sa 58 na may lisesnyang POGO mula sa Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) ay hindi nakarehistro.

“I may not be too accurate but I am certain that most if not all of the 46 POGOs have no legal personality because their names are not found in the business/company name registry in the Philippines or abroad,” ani Barbers.

“Para silang (POGOs) jeepney o bus na kolorum operators – ‘yung mga bumibiyahe sa isang partikular na ruta pero walang prankisa mula sa LTO (They are like colorum jeepney or bus operators that ply a certain route without an LTO fran­chise). These colorum or ‘ghost’ POGOs operate in the Philippines but they are not registered in our country as a business entity,” aniya.

(GERRY BALDO)