Villanueva wants Marcos to make anti-POGO bill a priority measure

Senator Joel Villanueva on Wednesday said he would ask President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to make the bill he filed banning Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) to be a priority measure.

"If I'd be given a chance to talk to the President, I would appeal na maging priority ito (I would appeal to make this a priority)," Villanueva said at the Kapihan sa Senado forum.

Villanueva emphasized the need for such a measure to ensure that the POGO ban would "go beyond the present administration."

"Gusto natin mawala totally ang bakas ng POGO sa ating lipunan... This one will definitely put a period, pagtanggal ng anumang bakas ng POGO na maaari kasing buhayin ng susunod na administrasyon 'yan... We don't want the next administration or the future administration to invite this POGO back." the senator said.

(We want to remove all traces of POGOs in our country. This one will definitely do that because the succeeding administrations might revive this industry. We don't want the next administration or the future administration to invite this POGO back.)

The senator said he would not be surprised if the influence of POGOs has already reached not only the local governments, but also the Executive, Legislative Department and even the Judicial branches of government.

He shared reports of at least three to four local chief executives who may be involved in POGOs.

"May mga raw information. May mga nagsusumbong po through Facebook for instance. I encountered at least mga three or four na local executives na hindi po naririnig natin na gusto nilang paimbesitigahan. So we just forwarded their complaint," Villanueva said.

(There are raw pieces of information, some of them were sent to me through Facebook. I  encountered three or four local chief executives that we haven't heard of yet but some parties want them to be investigated.)

"Raw pa ho eh... hindi siya verified. And I think, klaro, I mean, with the amount of money that's flowing from this operation, lobbyists coming from chief executives, from local government units, I'm almost sure na meron. Even in the legislature, even in the judiciary," Villanueva added.

(These are raw pieces of information and not yet verified. But it is clear that with the amount of money that's flowing from this operation, lobbyists coming from chief executives, from local government units. I'm almost sure that there is. Even in the legislature, even in the judiciary.)

Complaints received by Villanueva include alleged inaction of local governments on sightings of supposed Chinese nationals who seemed to have been staying in the country illegally.

These complaints have been endorsed to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), he said.

Asked to specify the localities where these reports came from, Villanueva mentioned Calabarzon, National Capital Region, and Central Luzon.

"Hindi lang Central Luzon. [Regions] IV-A, NCR and Central Luzon 'yung mga nakuha ko po. I don't want to dwell on these information kasi nga po hindi verified, but I will not be surprised and I am actually saying this—'yung gut feel ko, meron na talaga, marami nang influence ang POGO. Malawak na malawak na," he said.

(The information does not only come from Central Luzon but also in Regions IV-A, NCR, and Central Luzon. I don't want to dwell on these pieces of information because these are not yet verified but I will not be surprised and I am actually saying this—I have a gut feel that the influence of POGO is already vast.)

In his third State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand "Bongbong Marcos Jr. announced the ban of all POGOs in the Philippines. — VDV, GMA Integrated News