Senators on Monday urged the Philippine National Police (PNP) to look into the possible connection between the recent abduction and murder of Filipino-Chinese businessman Mario Uy to crimes involving Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, and which investigated the socio-economic cost of the POGO industry to the country, have earlier recommended the total and immediate phaseout of POGO operations in the country.
“It has been said by the MRPO (Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order) that the gruesome death of the Filipino-Chinese businessman bears the semblance of criminal syndicates connected to POGOs,” Gatchalian said.
“As we have seen in the past, POGOs have been the favorite mode of entry to our country by these criminal syndicates. I urge the police force to once again put the spot light on POGOs and the people behind this shady business,” he pointed out.
“Our biggest fear that these syndicates will rechannel their attention to local businessmen has already begun. This is the primary reason to continue fighting to keep our communities safe,” the senator said.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, for her part, said she is certain that the PNP is already looking into the possibility that this gruesome murder is POGO-related.
“As our Senate Committee on Women previously uncovered, POGOs have been responsible for numerous criminal activities, such as prostitution, tax evasion, and illegal detention. In fact, our office assisted a Taiwanese national, alias Ivy, who escaped from a POGO company, after being illegally detained and sexually harassed, among others,” said Hontiveros.
“Our Committee also found that kidnapping is one of the ways some POGO actors use to generate more income,” she added.
“Should this incident be proven to be POGO-related, it will only strengthen our longstanding call to kick POGOs out of the country,” she also stressed.
Hontiveros, likewise, urged Malacanang to support Gatchalian’s proposal to ban POGOs as soon as possible.
“Walang mabuting naidala sa bansa kaya’t palayasin na (It has not done anything good to the country so let’s get rid of them),” she said.
Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva also echoed the call for the PNP to look into all the possible angles in their investigation on the matter in order to bring justice to the family of the victim.
“Incidents like this instill fear to our citizens, who are deeply concerned for their security and peace of mind. As of September 2022, there are 27 kidnapping cases reported by the PNP, of which 15 are POGO-related cases, 11 are kidnap-for-ransom cases and one casino—related case,” Villanueva said.
“Because of this, our police force needs to remain more vigilant and proactive in preventing kidnappings especially now that even foreign nationals are becoming involved in these crimes,” he further stressed.