No let-up on Senate POGO hearings

The Senate investigation into the recently raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGO in the country and the alleged link of suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo to them will continue, Senator Risa Hontiveros said Friday.

According to Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, the investigation would continue despite President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s total ban on POGOs.

“It’s not over yet. It’s not just Mayor Guo being investigated here, but the entire POGO industry that has brought various crimes to the country,” she said in a statement.

“Even though the POGO ban has been announced, it is the Senate’s oversight function to ensure that the phaseout is genuinely implemented, that those involved in the crimes are identified, that the victim-survivors are given justice, and that the workers are provided with a just transition,” she added.

Earlier this week, Marcos announced the total ban on POGOs in his third State of the Nation Address at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.

Hontiveros said the upper chamber would continue its investigation to “ensure that our regulatory failures are addressed.”

“Many government institutions seem to have been corrupted by the POGOs, and this needs to be addressed with policies that we can push in the Senate,” she said.