Rodrigo Duterte 鈥擝ing Gonzales
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The House quad committee will be recommending the filing of charges against 鈥渃lose to 10鈥� people as it is set to wrap up its hearings for the year, its lead chair, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, said on Tuesday.
In an interview, Barbers said they were planning to recommend the filing of criminal and administrative cases against 鈥渁ctive, retired and recently retired鈥� officials, though he declined to disclose names or the nature of the complaints they would be filing.
Since August, the megapanel composed of the House committees on dangerous drugs (chaired by Barbers); public order and safety (Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez); public accounts (Abang Lingkod Rep. Joseph Paduano), and human rights (Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante) have been investigating the connections among Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), illegal drug trade and extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration.
READ: Duterte takes 鈥榝ull legal, moral responsibility鈥� for drug war
Former President Rodrigo Duterte himself testified before the panel on Nov. 13, where he made several incriminating statements about his involvement in his bloody campaign that saw thousands of Filipinos dead.
In that same hearing, he said he was assuming full responsibility for all the abuses committed by his police officers during the drug war and even egged on the International Criminal Court to hurry up and issue a warrant against him.
Key personalities
Previous hearings have scrutinized the following people: retired police colonel and former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)General Manager Royina Garma and former National Police Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, for their role in the 2022 assassination of former PCSO board member Wesley Barayuga and for supposedly having a hand in the rewards system that incentivized killings in the drug war; Duterte鈥檚 former economic adviser Michael Yang and his brother, Antonio Yang, seen as masterminds in the illegal Pogo system; Pharmally executive Lin Weixiong, believed to be the same Allan Lim involved in Pogos, and Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte and Duterte鈥檚 son-in-law Manases Carpio, tagged by former Bureau of Customs (BOC) intelligence officer Jimmy Guban as co-owning a massive 鈥渟habu鈥� shipment that slipped through the BOC in 2018.
For Thursday鈥檚 upcoming hearing鈥攖he last for the Pogo part of their inquiry鈥擝arbers said they have invited a resource person known as the 鈥渒ing of all kings鈥� of offshore gaming, which was banned by President Marcos by the end of the year.
He did not name who it was, but last October, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission arrested a man named Lin Xunhan in Laguna province, believed to be the 鈥渒ingpin鈥� of Pogos.
Lin supposedly arrived in the Philippines in 2016 and has set up alleged scam farms in Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Cebu, and Metro Manila.
No solid link
As to Duterte鈥檚 role in illegal Pogos, Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty on Tuesday said there was no concrete evidence that would warrant an investigation against him.
Ty said the former President鈥檚 association with Yang was 鈥渘ot enough evidence鈥� to summon him for investigation.
According to Ty, the government is tackling the issue of Pogos by looking at individual illegal enterprises, unlike its probe on the drug war, which is investigating the former administration鈥檚 antinarcotics campaign as a whole, including high-ranking personalities who may be held accountable for the thousands of extrajudicial killings.
鈥淐learly, when it comes to Pogos, we tackle illegal Pogos at the level of each illegal enterprise 鈥� So at the level of individual Pogos, we haven鈥檛 seen yet any evidence to connect former President Duterte to [the illegal activities],鈥� Ty said during a forum on Pogos organized by Stratbase ADR Institute in Makati City.
The Department of Justice official noted that Duterte was merely associated with Yang and that 鈥渋t won鈥檛 be enough to bring an investigation against him.鈥�
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just go through some kind of fishing expedition. But as I mentioned earlier, when it comes to Pogos, our investigation of Pogos is really on establishment level and so far, the establishments that have been investigated, there鈥檚 no link to [Duterte] yet,鈥� Ty said, adding that for a criminal investigation to prosper, there has to be more than intelligence information.
Permanent Pogo ban
In Congress, senators are not leaving anything to chance as they pushed for the passage of a law that would fortify and make permanent President Marcos鈥� order to banish Pogos.
鈥淭his proposal aligns with the President鈥檚 directive and seeks to institutionalize it, ensuring that this ban extends beyond the current administration,鈥� Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said in his sponsorship of the proposed Senate Bill No. 2868, or the Anti-Pogo Act of 2024, on Monday.
Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate ways and means committee, introduced the measure after conducting hearings on the social and economic costs of the country鈥檚 hosting of Pogos, which flourished during the Duterte administration.
According to him, those behind the online gambling facilities, which were supposed to cater only to bettors abroad, particularly in mainland China, had turned the Philippines into a 鈥渉aven for money laundering.鈥�