NABBED. One of 51 workers caught working for an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator during a raid in Barangay Pio del Pilar, Makati City at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in July 2020. Concerned citizens reported the company, located on the fifth floor of a condominium, to the police. (Courtesy of Southern Police District) MANILA - Government agencies must intensify the campaign against the illegal activities of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) to ensure peace and order and maintain a climate conducive for business. Senator JV Ejercito on Tuesday said in particular, the Bureau of Immigration, National Bureau of Investigation, and Philippine National Police must work double time to monitor and detect illegal operations and the whereabouts of displaced POGO workers. He cautioned that the government risks losing the confidence of investors and the rest of the business sector if such security concerns are not addressed. "There might be some foreign national syn
NABBED. One of 51 workers caught working for an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator during a raid in Barangay Pio del Pilar, Makati City at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in July 2020. Concerned citizens reported the company, located on the fifth floor of a condominium, to the police. (Courtesy of Southern Police District) MANILA - Government agencies must intensify the campaign against the illegal activities of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) to ensure peace and order and maintain a climate conducive for business. Senator JV Ejercito on Tuesday said in particular, the Bureau of Immigration, National Bureau of Investigation, and Philippine National Police must work double time to monitor and detect illegal operations and the whereabouts of displaced POGO workers. He cautioned that the government risks losing the confidence of investors and the rest of the business sector if such security concerns are not addressed. "There might be some foreign national syn
(File photo) MANILA - Senator Francis Tolentino favors a total revamp of the electoral system, saying partial or piecemeal amendments to the Omnibus Election Code will not solve problems. In a news release on Sunday, Tolentino renewed the call for hybrid elections, stating that while quick and fast results are desirable and which automated transmissions can provide, a transparent but manual counting process should also exist side-by-side automation. The existing Omnibus Election Code, according to Tolentino, was created in 1985 and the provisions do not adapt with the current situation anymore. Tolentino said one of the issues he will look into is the disenfranchisement of seafarers who fail to cast their votes due to the nature of their work. "'Yung mga seaman natin na nakasampa sa barko, pagkatapos pag nagpunta ka sa port, hindi din makaboto. Dumaong ka sa Rotterdam [Netherlands] na isang napakalaking port area. Ang boto mo ay sa The Hague. So ang layo. Mag bibiyahe ka pa so
RESCUED. More than 40 foreign nationals reportedly forced to work with Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators are rescued in Angeles City, Pampanga on Sept. 17, 2022. The Department of the Interior and Local Government and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation ordered the closure of the POGO company, Lucky South 99 Outsourcing Inc., located along Fil-Am Friendship Highway. (Courtesy of PRO-3) MANILA - The Senate is weighing the effects of halting or continuing Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) but could only think of disadvantages now. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the recent POGO revenues reached just PHP3 billion, far from the projected income of PHP40 billion annually; illegal workers proliferate; and kidnapping cases, although usually among foreign nationals, have the possibility of involving Filipinos, too. In a radio interview on Sunday, Gatchalian said banning POGOs remains to be seen. "Gusto ko makita economic benefits kaya pag-aralan natin. Gusto natin na
(Courtesy of Albay Association of the Deaf Facebook) MANILA - Senator Sherwin Gatchalian wants to expand the training of teachers on Filipino Sign Language (FSL) even as he noted the "serious neglect" in the implementation of the law. In a news release on Friday, Gatchalian said he filed Proposed Resolution No. 14 to look into the impact of using FSL as the language of instruction on deaf education. He also wants a probe into the implementation of Republic Act No. 11106, or the FSL Act that mandates the FSL as the national sign language of the deaf of the government in all transactions involving the deaf and its use in schools, broadcast media, and workplaces. The FSL Act's implementing rules and regulations were signed on Dec. 6, 2021, three years after the law's effectivity, Gatchalian said. The lawmaker flagged the insufficient training of teachers on FSL, non-promotion of the licensing and mobilization of deaf teachers, and lack of FSL materials, which prevent dea