Hit & run POGOs ‘pangalanan’

HINIKAYAT ni Senador Joel Villanueva ang  Commission of Audit (COA) at ang Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) na isapubliko at pangalanan ang 15 Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) na may utang sa pamahalaan na umabot sa P1.36 bilyon.

Ayon kay Villanueva hindi dapat pabayaan ang pananagutang ng mga POGO lalo na’t malaking kapakinabangan ito sa pamahalaan kapag nakolekta.

“PAGCOR and COA should publicly name the 15 delinquent POGOs. They do not have the right to remain anonymous,” ani Villanueva, Chairman ng Senate Committee on  Labor.

Batay sa pahayag ng PAGCOR, ang lisensiya ng walo sa 15 POGO ay kanselado na, isa ang suspendido, at ang tatlo ay under review.

“For those who have swindled the government, all the more that their identities be known. For those who have closed shop and ran away with debts unpaid, then their names should be announced, not withheld,” diin ni Villanueva.

Ipinagtataka ni Villanueva, kung bakit bigo ang COA at PAGCOR na pangalanan ang delinquent POGOs na tila maituturing na ‘hit and run.’

“If names of owners of real estate with unpaid taxes are routinely published in newspapers, then why can’t the same treatment be extended to foreign gambling operators whose arrears are far bigger?” tanong ni Villanueva.

Binigyang-diin ni Villanueva, hindi barya ang utang nila kundi mahigit isang bilyong piso.

“‘Yung topnotcher, P462 million ang atraso. ‘Yung second place, P179.7 million. ‘Yung pangatlo, P174 million. These are not penny-ante money, but amounts of plunder proportions,” pagbubunyag ni Villanueva.

“PAGCOR should go after them even if they have retreated behind the Great Wall up north. Hindi dapat payagan ang ganitong hit and run,” pagwawakas ini Villanueva.  (NIÑO ACLAN)