Sinong padrino? Carpio breaks down laws PAGCOR is violating by allowing POGOs in PH

Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio is convinced that “invisible hands” in both China and the Philippines are behind Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), which are thriving in the country despite being illegal.

In his May 7 column for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Carpio listed the laws and regulations violated by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) by allowing POGOs to operate.

Carpio said PAGCOR’s own charter states that it can only license gambling casinos within the Philippines’ territorial jurisdiction.

“Pagcor cannot authorize its Pogo licensees to extend their gambling operations in the territory of China. Such an act is ultra vires—outside Pagcor’s legal authority and a violation of its own Charter,” he said.

The former Supreme Court justice said PAGCOR’s own rules also require license applicants to submit a license from the foreign jurisdiction where their feed will be streamed to.

Gaming operators are also banned from accepting wagers from jurisdictions where gambling is prohibited. POGOs, however, are banned in China.

“Pogo applicants submitted licenses from the Chinese government, these licenses are obviously fake. Still, Pagcor has allowed some 60 Pogos to operate in the Philippines in violation of Pagcor’s own rules,” Carpio pointed out.

The retired magistrate said POGOs are also illegal under the Revised Penal Code since they cannot comply with PAGCOR’s own rules.

Carpio said POGOs obviously have protectors since their employees are even accorded special treatment. He said their operations in the Philippines and China are “obviously well-synchronized.”

“The mystery is that these operations are facilitated by the easy grant of Pagcor licenses, the adoption of visa upon arrival policy, the special escorts for arriving Pogo workers at the airport, and now the resumption of Pogo operations ahead of other businesses shut down due to COVID-19. It is apparent that there is an invisible hand orchestrating the activities of Pogos in the Philippines,” Carpio said.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)