Senator Risa Hontiveros says they have new information about the presence of alleged Chinese spies in the Philippines through POGOs.
The final Senate hearing on illegal offshore gaming operators will focus on alleged Chinese spies at gambling hubs in the Philippines.
Senator Risa Hontiveros confirmed this, adding that they are focusing on the presence of reported Chinese spies through Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hubs.
"May bagong impormasyon po tayong nakalap, lalo na sa pagkakaroon ng mga espiya ng Tsina dito sa Pilipinas sa pamamagitan ng mga POGO (We have new information, especially on the presence of Chinese spies in the Philippines through the POGOs)," Hontiveros said at a forum, as quoted by ABS-CBN News.
Senators are set to put a hard stop to the hearing on POGOs before the end of the month. Hontiveros previously said the senate panel is hoping that Lyu Dong, the alleged big boss of the Lucky South 99 POGO Hub in Porac Pampanga, will join the hearing.
Lyu Dong was nabbed at a private subdivision last September, and was described as a kingpin among POGOs.
Authorities are currently eyeing to remove all POGOs in the Philippines by the end of 2024. But Hontiveros said the existing executive order, signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., still has its lapses.
She hopes the final hearing will also be a platform for her team to reform the law to prevent irregularities in POGO.
"Kaya sa next hearing, ilalahad po natin yung mga reporma sa batas na kailangan isulong dito sa Senado dahil sa napakaraming iregularidad at policy gaps na nakita natin sa pagkalat ng POGO at ng mga kaakibat nitong krimen (That is why we will present amendments to the law that we need to pass because of the many irregularities and policy gaps that we saw in the proliferation of POGOs and the crimes that came with them),” said Senator Hontiveros.
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