Sen. Risa Hontiveros gave her closing statement during the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality hearing on Tuesday.
Sen. Hontiveros adjourned the hearing, closing the committee's probe on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).
Sen. Hontiveros adjourned the hearing, closing the committee's probe on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).
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00:00So, friends, we have come to the end of a very long road.
00:05For five long years, while counting our pastillas investigation,
00:09the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality
00:13tried to leave no stone unturned to unravel the many evils brought to our shores
00:18by Philippine offshore gaming operators, or POGOs.
00:22POGOs welcomed with open arms by the administration of former President Duterte.
00:28They have now been revealed to be nothing but a Trojan horse.
00:32They have exposed a web of people
00:40a web of people who used POGOs for their own selfish interests,
00:45their own personal gain, all at the expense of the Filipino people.
00:50Walang dinala dito ang mga POGO, kundi bangungot.
00:56Despite the many heinous crimes unearthed by this committee,
01:00including large-scale scamming, corruption, kidnapping, torture, prostitution, and human trafficking,
01:09our objective has never been to prove any single individual guilty.
01:16This committee has unmasked you as a Chinese national,
01:21to amass wealth and commit crimes against true Filipinos.
01:26But I leave your fate, Ms. Guo, up to the courts,
01:31and I look forward to the day you face justice.
01:40We abide by the rule of law in this country,
01:42and these hearings were never a trial for your crimes.
01:46The same goes for your co-conspirators and bad actors.
01:52What was on trial here, however, was our very system of laws and policies
01:58which allowed these travesties to go unchecked and to fester.
02:03Ang nalilitis natin dito ay ang katibayan at kasapatan ng ating mga batas
02:10Parahadlangan ang abuso ng pogo at ang hatol, nung tinimbang, nakakalungkot, at kulang na kulang.
02:20Inabuso ang ating birth certificate registration, immigration procedures, passport and visa applications,
02:29pagtayo ng negosyo sa pangalan ng kumpanya, bank secrecy,
02:35at pati ang pribiliheyong lumahok sa elekson at maging kawani ng gobyerno.
02:40Ngayon, lumalabas na pati ang demokrasya at pambansang seguridad natin ay nailagay na sa panganib.
02:49Nagpapasalamat ako sa Nika sa inyong malinaw na testimonya
02:54at sa assurance na tututukan ang national security concerns na narase dito.
03:01Ayon sa PAOK, si Sir Z. Jiang na nagsabing kapwa niya Chinese assets si Guo Huaping,
03:09ay may mga pogo rin.
03:11Truly, foreign agents use all means at their disposal.
03:16And those who think that pogos are exempt are foolish.
03:21Natukoy ng pogo syndicates ang kahinaan ng ating mga batas
03:25at sinamantalan nila ito para magpakasasa
03:29habang ang kapwa nila ay napipinsala.
03:34Pero bilang mga Pilipino, hindi natin papayagang magpatuloy ito.
03:40No, this is not a witch hunt.
03:43Hindi po ito tokhang.
03:45Yung nakasanayang niyong gawi, huwag niyong ibintang dito.
03:51The President has reiterated the unqualified ban on all pogos,
03:56maging sa ilalim man ng PAGCOR, ng ECOZONES o iba pa.
04:01Malinaw ang kanyang salita at ang kailangang linawin
04:05ang mga puwang ng EO74 sa lalong madaling panahon.
04:10Ang mga pogo within licensed casinos at ang mga pogo sa ECOZONES,
04:16even service providers to foreign pogos, must be banned.
04:22At kung hindi ito malinaw para sa ilan,
04:25at ito ang kanilang gagamitin lusot,
04:28I will file an amendment to the Anti-Pogo Bill at the proper time.
04:33Binuon na nga ang Task Force Pogo Closure,
04:36kasama ang DOJ, DOLE, PAGCOR, PAOK at BI.
04:43Tututukan natin ang kanilang trabaho.
04:46The Senate President has also committed to prioritizing the enactment of the Anti-Pogo Bill
04:53to ensure that pogos, whatever they may be called or disguised as in the future,
04:59will forever be banned in our country.
05:02Paparusahan at papananagutin natin ang sino mang di sumunod,
05:08lalo na kung opisyal ng gobyerno.
05:11Ipapasa natin ang mga angkop na batas
05:14para paigtingin ang mga sistema kontra abuso
05:18sa Civil Registration, Immigration, Money Laundering, Kandidatura sa Elekson, at National Security.
05:26The Committee holds the DFA to its commitment
05:30to reach out to Xi Jinping for information in his possession
05:35on Guohuaping, the Yang brothers, and other possible foreign agents.
05:41We will also seek to obtain these documents preparatory to the Committee Report.
05:46Even post-adjournment, the Committee retains its jurisdiction
05:51insofar as seeking access to Xi Jinping is concerned.
05:55Friends, this may be the end of our hearings on pogo,
06:00but this is only the beginning of the legislative reforms
06:04that we will strive to push to ensure that every Filipino, to every Filipino,
06:11that there will never be another Alice Guo.
06:14Guohuaping, sisiguraduhin ko na hindi ka na makakaulit dito.
06:20At matututo ang lahat sa gagawin sayo.
06:24Additionally, the arrest order of Alice Guo or Guohuaping is quashed.
06:31Alex Chong, Dale Ignacio, Elias Ivy, Elias Karina, Elias Rita, this is for you.
06:44Sa mga biktima ng mga pogo sa loob at labas ng bansa, this is for you.
06:51Sa mga kababayan nating Pilipino na hirap na hirap makakuha ng ID,
06:57birth certificate, at iba, pero araw-araw namumuhay ng may dangal
07:03at lumalaban ng patas, this is for you.
07:07Para sa bayan, kailanman.
07:10With many thanks to all our resource persons, this hearing is adjourned.