THE quad committee of the House of Representatives yesterday concluded its long-drawn-out investigation into the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs, the extrajudicial killings linked to it and the criminal activities of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).
In his opening statement during the 15th and final hearing of the joint panel, which is composed of the House Committees on Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights and Public Accounts, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said: “The Chinese raped us but we helped them rape us.”
Barbers, chairperson of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said: “The words betrayal, traitors, unpatriotic are not enough to describe the despicable, wicked and perhaps even evil acts of collaboration that some of our leaders, elected officials and civil servants extended to these criminals.”
While the joint panel has yet to release its final committee report, it recommended last December that former president Rodrigo Duterte be charged with “crimes against humanity,” the exact case he is facing before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands where he is currently detained.
The proliferation of POGOs happened under Duterte, who is known for his perceived subservience to Chinese President Xi Jinping despite China’s illegal activities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Barbers blamed the rise of POGOs on Duterte’s Executive Order (EO) No. 13, which allowed Chinese offshore gaming operators to flourish in the country, where many criminal activities also took place such as human trafficking and scamming operations.
Lawmakers have found out in the course of the hearings that POGO money was supposedly used to bankroll the drug war after Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido testified that the money allegedly “flowed from the level of (Sen. Christopher) Bong Go,” referring to Duterte’s long-time aide.
Go’s aide, former Palace aide Herminia “Muking” Espino, is said to have played a huge role in the reward system for cops who killed drugs suspects since she allegedly handled the money when Go was still the Special Assistant to the President.
The joint investigation zeroed in on the links between POGO operations, human trafficking, drug smuggling and EJKs during the bloody war on drugs.
Barbers compared the quad panel’s discoveries to “mafia movies” and “Hollywood and James Bond movies combined” but “with one cohesive plot,” which he said is the “network of criminality involving Chinese nationals and Filipino collaborators.”
“POGO hubs have evolved into breeding grounds for transnational crime: human trafficking, crypto scams, money laundering, identity fraud, torture and even murder,” he said.
Barbers cited as an example the case of former Bamban mayor Alice Guo, who is accused of being a Chinese spy, after she was unmasked as Guo Hua Ping, allegedly a “Chinese national who infiltrated our political system using fraudulent documents.”
He said Guo’s case was not an ordinary immigration violation but “a serious threat to our national security.”
The veteran lawmaker, who did not run for any public office last midterm elections, urged concerned agencies to go after illegal POGO workers in the country after Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission told lawmakers that there are between 9,000 to 10,000 Chinese nationals who remain in the country even after the government shut down POGOs on orders of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“You, the concerned agencies should be proactive, huwag tutulog-tulog (don’t sleep on the job). This matter involves national security because these foreigners may now either be criminals or spies. For all you know, one of them is your neighbor,” Barbers said.
During yesterday’s hearing, NBI spokesperson Ferdinand Lavin said the bureau has been looking into the possible links between POGOs and Chinese spies, since some POGO operators have now shifted to financial scamming and espionage activities after the crackdown on offshore gaming firms.
“We’re completing our data on the nexus, the interconnection between the operations of POGO and espionage. And once we’re done with the investigations on this, we will submit a copy of our report,” Lavin said. “We have filed cases against a good number of foreign nationals involved in the various espionage activities.”
Paolo Magtoto of the Central Luzon office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) also told lawmakers that they have issued alien employment permits to 15,140 workers of 16 POGO establishments in the region but canceled all of it in compliance with the President’s order banning POGOs.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) representative Vicente Uncad said that upon receipt of the DOLE cancellation of employment permits, the Chinese nationals’ working visas were revoked and downgraded to tourist visas.
Uncad could not say how many Chinese have applied for visa extensions since tourist visas are good for only six months. Foreigners have the option to apply for an extension every month for a maximum period of two years, he added.
