The nation is focused on the investigation of the massive corruption that angered almost every sector of our society. It is somewhat similar on the investigation then of now detained former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo. Though not the same in scale. President Bongbong Marcos declared the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations ( POGO) inoperative. That was a good move. I remember there were loud applauses heard in the halls of congress when President Marcos announced the dismantling of the gambling hubs.
Many months later, me and some have some questions in mind with regards to those buildings that was left by the Chinese owners? There are 46 buildings in Porac constructed in an eight hectare prime property. A stone throw away is a golf course. Will the municipal government of Porac become the beneficial owner? Just asking. The same question with regards to those buildings in Bamban, Tarlac. Maybe the national government will take interests. I heard the National Housing Authority (NHA) is interested in acquiring them. For what purpose I don’t know. Methinks they will be better be used as school buildings. If Porac town cannot afford to operate them as schools, May I suggest that it can ink a usufruct arrangement with Angeles City government which the latter can afford the costs to shoulder as a branch of City College of Angeles (CCA). Further suggestion in this corner is to lease them to those schools in Metro Manila, say University of the East. Is Mr. Lucio Tan listening? He owns UE. (The Sy family owns National University in SM Clark while Far Eastern University is already in San Fernando).
My friend, Frankie Villanueva who was formerly president of the City College of Angeles in one of our meetings at Monday Club said that there’s an acute shortage of rooms in the CCA. According to him this school year thousands of those who took the entrance exams were not accommodated due to room shortage. For the benefit of Malacanang officials they must know that residents of Porac cannot access the area where the POGO buildings are located because the only entrance in that area can only be accessed via Angeles City. Anyone willing to go there has to travel 12 kilometers from Porac to Angeles City. I don’t think there are not many students can afford really afford to commute daily. It will eat much of their allowances.
Let’s look back. With the closure of the POGOs this has to be told for better understanding of the public. Enough grandstanding from solons. Internet gaming is not really that bad per se. Some senators and congressmen are maybe still ignorant how it is being run. It has increased heftily the revenues of Philippine Amusement And Gaming Operation ( PAGCOR). The added income sourced from these POGO operations resulted to hundreds of millions a month. And PAGCOR overseeing the operations. Simply put it is modern gambling in the digital age. The platforms are in our country and the bettors are mostly in China. No wonder there were so many Chinese workers. What was bad were the crimes committed in their compounds.
I remember this and I can only scratched my head why the investigating senators and congressmen then were pounding on the hapless Porac Mayor Jing Capil for having no knowledge on the crimes committed inside the POGO hub.
Some bad habits of some senators and congressmen are their style of badgering their resource persons. They even smirk and insult their guests. Today’s members of the senate and the House of Representatives are far cry against those senators of yesteryears who were really honorable. Not many of them today. Hindi ko nilalahat, sila’y horrorable not honorable. Or simply horrible!