There is not enough evidence to link former President Rodrigo Duterte to the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday.
Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said the DOJ investigation showed that “at the level of individual POGOs, we haven’t seen any evidence to connect former President Duterte”.
“There is not enough evidence to link President Duterte to illegal POGO operations. Clearly, when it comes to POGOs, we tackled illegal POGOs at the level of each illegal enterprise,” said Ty in a forum organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute.
“At the level of individual POGOs, we haven’t seen yet any evidence to connect former President Duterte,” he said.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, during the final Senate hearing on POGO operations in November, presented a matrix of individuals who allegedly used the gambling industry for personal gains.
Among them is Michael Yang, who served as the presidential adviser under the Duterte administration.
“Presently, the association is not enough to connect him… and to bring up an investigation,” Ty said when asked if this was enough to link Duterte to illegal POGOs.
“I think what came out in the Senate investigations, down to the matrix, that’s intelligence. For there to be an investigation, that has to be beyond intelligence,” he added.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in July banned all POGOs after several such businesses were implicated in crimes, including human trafficking, serious illegal detention, and money scams.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation earlier expressed optimism they are on track of the year-end deadline, saying there will be “zero” POGOs in the country by December 15, 2024. —NB, GMA Integrated News
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