Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 4) — The Philippines is becoming the center of human trafficking activities in the world because of the continued presence of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country, a senator said Friday.
Speaking to CNN Philippines’ The Source, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the country is not only emerging as the “POGO hub of the world,” but also the “human trafficking hub of the world.” The problem will persist as “POGOs now are being used as a front for human trafficking,” he said.
Gatchalian noted that 4,000 victims of human trafficking victims were rescued in the last 60 days.
‘It’s an ongoing struggle and it’s an ongoing fight but we’re ready to take the long haul until we ban POGOs in our country,” he said.
In July, Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, said he submitted his “Chairman’s Report” to Malacañang in April, recommending the immediate shutdown of all POGO operations.
He said the committee hearings showed that the country is not benefitting from the supposed revenues from POGOs. Even if it did, it could not outweigh the social costs of the crimes linked to POGOs, he noted.
While waiting for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s action on the matter, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is currently reviewing the status of all POGOs in the country to check if they are subleasing their license, Gatchalian said.
“It took them almost five years to figure that out. But now that they figured that out, they are trying to cleanse the ranks of the POGOs by banning all of these sublicensees,” the senator said.
Gatchalian said the sublicensing of POGOs contracts is prohibited, adding that these sublicensees are the ones involved in illegal activities.
