Suarez says the order to end POGOs is the right move

Quezon 2nd District Representative David “Jay-jay” Suarez (left) President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (Facebook, MANILA BULLETIN)

After two months of marathon hearings by the House of Representatives Quad Committee (quad-comm), Quezon 2nd District Rep. David “Jay-jay” Suarez has concluded that President Marcos made the right decision in ordering the total shutdown of all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).

“President Marcos was absolutely right in his call to close POGOs,” Suarez, deputy speaker in the House of Representatives, said in a statement on Sunday afternoon, October 6.

“Nakita naman natin sa ating mga (quad-comm) hearings na hindi lamang ito tungkol sa sugal, linked di ito sa iligal na droga, at EJKs. Hindi ito simpleng problema: this is organized crime, and we must put an end to it ,” Suarez noted.

(We saw in the quad-comm hearings that this is not just about gambling, but also about illegal drugs and extrajudicial killings. This is not a simple problem: this is organized crime, and we must put an end to it. . )

It was last July 22 when President Marcos announced the order to halt POGOs in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) in the House of Representatives. He cited the social costs of maintaining POGOs, which boomed during the previous Duterte administration.

Just a few weeks later, the House Quad Comm was formed through plenary action. Led by General Chairman Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the special four-judge panel began its series of hearings, but it was not clear how deep the POGO rabbit hole went.

Obviously it turned out to be a pretty deep hole.

During the last hearing last September 27, the Quad Comm revealed its findings on a deep-rooted criminal syndicate allegedly led by Michael Yang, the presidential adviser to former President Rodrigo Duterte, and his associate Allan Lim.

This syndicate is allegedly embedded in a web of criminal activities – ranging from drug trafficking and money laundering to running illegal POGOs – all with the cooperation of corrupt government officials.

“Hindi lang POGO ang problema ditto (POGO is not the only problem here). The evidence presented at the Quad Comm hearings shows that drug syndicates use these platforms as fronts for their illegal trade.

“If you use a Hindi language to do this, you can do this if you are kababayan,” Suarez said.

(The fact that this is not just about gambling, but also about the lives of our fellow countrymen is frightening.)

READ THIS:

https://mb.com.ph/2024/9/28/quad-comm-uncovers-transnational-ring

The Quezon lawmaker also highlighted the alarming rise in the number of EJKs linked to the illegal POGO industry.

“We cannot ignore the growing violence surrounding POGO activities. People are being murdered, and these deaths are directly linked to the criminal syndicates operating behind the scenes. Kailangan natin itong sugpuin nang mabilis (We must end this quickly),” Suarez insisted.

He further noted that while the government has already taken steps to end POGO operations, the fight against these illegal activities should not end there.

“POGOs are just part of a bigger problem. We must dismantle the entire network of syndicates that use these platforms as a front for their illegal activities. I fully support President Marcos in his commitment to clean up these industries,” Suarez said.