MANILA – Opposition Sen. Franklin Drilon suggested shutting down Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos) to end the influx of illegal Chinese workers in the country.
Drilon said the administration must follow Cambodia, which recently banned offshore casinos catering gamblers in China where gambling was banned.
“I would like to think there is certainly great merit into looking at the possibility of closing down Pogos,” he added. “Why should we allow our country to be China’s biggest casino?”
“I am not for Pogos. I am against gambling. Pogos deprived our workers opportunity to earn a living. Filipinos are not adept at Mandarin but it is something that can be learned,” Drilon said.
He added the location of Pogos must be farther away from military camps after Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana recently said the growing presence of Chinese in Pogos and their close proximity to military camps might lead to spying.
“The security aspect is something that we cannot just brush aside. I cannot understand why we cannot have Pogo locations farther away from military camps,” Drilon said.
“I cannot understand why it is so difficult to allow them only in areas where the security concern would not be an issue. Secretary Lorenzana is a competent official. He has nothing but good intentions. Why don’t we defer to his judgment?” added Drilon./PN
