MANILA, Philippines — Five bills were filed as a result of the hearings by a joint committee at the House of Representatives on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), illegal drugs and extrajudicial killings (EJKs), one of its chairmen said on Thursday.
In a statement on Thursday, Quadcomm Lead Chairman and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said that the bills that were filed were:
– House Bill 10986 – Classifying and penalizing extra-judicial killings as a heinous crime, while providing reparations for the victims.
– House Bill 10987 – Prohibiting all forms of offshore gaming operations in the country, with severe penalties for violations.
– House Bill 11043 – Allowing civil forfeiture of unlawfully acquired real estate properties by foreign nationals.
– House Bill 11117 – Providing for the administrative cancellation of birth certificates fraudulently obtained by foreign nationals, and,
– House Bill 10998 – Punishing conspiracy and proposal to commit espionage.
Barbers said the panel also recommended at least 30 proposed amendments intended to strengthen some existing laws and ensure that certain abuses and misdeeds in the past were prevented from happening again in the future.
“Out of the series of hearings conducted by Quadcom, lawmakers and the public were informed and enlightened on how criminals and unscrupulous individuals or groups managed to use the flaws, loopholes and weaknesses on some of our existing laws, in the furtherance of their criminal activities,” Barbers said.
He said that local and foreign syndicates used the weaknesses and loopholes of Philippine laws and used it to do their illegal businesses in the country.
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