Pampanga recycling firm opens doors for inspection, denies POGO ties

A major recycling company in Mexico, Pampanga on Wednesday said it recently opened its doors to legislators to show it is not involved with Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).

In a statement, Infinity Eight Trading and Marketing Corp. legal counsel Stephen Jaromay said the company is “fully supportive of the efforts of Congress to shut down POGOs and to combat illegal drugs.” 

Jaromay said he recently accompanied a delegation of lawmakers led by House Speaker Martin Romualdez “to clarify the nature of its operations and to express their support for Congress' campaign against POGOs and illegal drugs” as the recycling company was being alleged to be housing POGOs in its facilities.

“We likewise welcome the opportunity to clarify any misconceptions or misunderstandings about the nature of Infinity Eight’s operations,” the lawyer said.

The lawyer told lawmakers that the original facilities of Infinity Eight were located in Plastic City in Valenzuela.

Showing photos of the damage caused by Typhoon Carina to its equipment in their Valenzuela facility, Jaromay said “the company decided to move its main base of operations here due to the threats posed by chronic flooding in Valenzuela.”

“So this facility houses all the major components of their operations, such as junk reception and processing, recycling facilities, and company headquarters,” he said.

Established in Valenzuela City three decades ago, Infinity Eight describes its operations as “built upon technological advancement in processing scrap materials for recycling purposes such as carton, plastics, and steel.”

The company recycles more than 3,000 tons of PET bottles monthly, and has the capacity to recycle more than 1,000 tons of Polyethylene (PE) and Polypropylene (PP) plastic pellets monthly.

Legislators earlier visited and inspected the Zun Yuan POGO facilities in Bamban, Tarlac, and the Lucky South 99 site in Porac, Pampanga. 

They later inspected the Empire 999 Realty Corp. warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga where 3.6 billion pesos worth of shabu was seized by law enforcement authorities last year.

Romualdez, for his part, said the site visits would allow legislators to see how the POGO and drug operations were conducted up close, and guide them in taking the steps necessary to hold the POGO and illegal drug syndicates accountable.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. announced a ban on POGOs during his State of the Nation Address last month. — BM, GMA Integrated News