Reasons to worry

During times of crisis like this coronavirus epidemic, people want to be reassured our leaders know what they are doing. After last Monday’s press conference, you have to be an unthinking diehard supporter to believe our great leader has his marbles intact and in good working order.

Here is a portion of the transcript of that press conference that should give us reason to worry. This was Duterte’s response to a question about the adequacy of the number of available test kits for the virus:

“But the kit? The kit is nadikit. Walang lumalabas pa. Kokonti lang kasi. The kit can be distributed to the different health centers, but at this time kung kulang they can be brought to a testing station, to RITM.

“I think that the... Sabi ko nga, in every – not generation – but epoch, maybe meron ‘yung noong una, Bubonic plague, ‘yung sa Middle East pa noon, kasi mga g*** ang tao noon parang tamang-tama lang. Tapos ‘yung Spanish flu right before or after the war – Second World War. Kawawa ‘yung mga tao. Pero mas kawawa ‘yung sa Middle East.

“The so-called Roman Empire. You have read the inquisition? Kung may birthmark ka, you are a witch and you are burned at stake.”

Okay. We are truly royally f—ked. And he said so himself when he called the Philippines a “f—king country” later in the press conference.

In normal times, the members of the Cabinet present should take the microphone away from him for his own good. The gibberish from our great leader showed he was suffering a serious case of verbal diarrhea.

The following day, in spite of mounting evidence of illegal activities associated with POGOs, he made a categorical statement absolving the gambling operations from any wrongdoing and urging the people to stop criticizing them.

“Under my oath of office as President of the Republic, as elected by you, ‘yang POGO na ‘yan, malinis ‘yan (those POGOs are clean).” Duterte said in a speech on Tuesday, March 10…

“’Why? Because it gives us P2 billion a month. Kaya sabi ko para muna (That’s why I said let’s pause first),’” Duterte said, referring to criticism against POGOs.

Totally ignored by Duterte was the study done by AMLC released that day that found an “increasing level of threat” of dirty money flowing in and out of POGOs.

The press release of the BSP on the AMLC study said POGOs may increase the risk for money laundering.

“Based on suspicious transaction reports from 2013 to 2019, the sectoral risk assessment reveals that the estimated value of proceeds, involving internet-based casinos and service providers (SPs), amounts to P14.01 billion.”

AMLC noted that it found an “increasing level of threat” of dirty money flowing in and out of POGOs. The BSP press release continues:

“Supported by tactical financial intelligence reports, the sectoral risk assessment covers the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (PAGCOR) 59 Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), 218 SPs, and three gaming laboratories as well as the Cagayan Special Economic Zone’s (CEZA) 24 interactive gaming licensees (IGLs) and 18 interactive gaming support service providers (IGSSPs).

“In addition, the study lists AMLC’s findings after an attempt to conduct onsite compliance-checking on POGOs.

“First, the offices of the POGOs, local gaming agents, and authorized representatives do not exist in the registered addresses provided by PAGCOR. The SPs, however, are operating in the said addresses. It must be noted that SPs are distinct from POGOs. SPs are those who offer services such as gaming software, content streaming, and other components of gaming operations, to qualified POGOs.

“Second, there are no actual local agents and/or authorized representatives in the Philippines. A foreign-based operator is required to appoint a local gaming agent who will represent the said foreign-based operator in the Philippines. In turn, these local agents or authorized representatives are obligated to complete the documentary requirements during application for gaming operations.

“Third, the compliance officers of the POGOs cannot be located and contacted at the given addresses. The SPs are also unaware of the existence of these compliance officers.

“Fourth, the POGOs have no anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) compliance units.”

The violations uncovered by AMLC makes it clear the Chinese POGO operators have no respect for local laws, and Pagcor has miserably failed to regulate these operations after issuing licenses.

It is not surprising the AMLC study found “an increasing level of threat to money laundering and other fraudulent activities… From 2017 to 2019, the recorded casino-kidnapping-related incidents totaled 63 cases.”

And because there is a high number of unregulated or unsupervised service providers or SPs, they are prone to abuse and exploitation by criminal organizations. One such SP was allegedly linked to an individual and entity subject of an AML investigation in relation to the Bangladesh Bank heist.

AMLC also found out that “because the use of gaming accounts is not closely regulated by POGOs, the level of anonymity is high. Thus, accounts may be used for money laundering and fraudulent activities.”

Duterte could have said he will make sure POGOs will from now on follow all of our laws, pay the right amount of taxes and not be involved in criminal activities. But no. Duterte just gave them a blanket clearance of doing no harm.

Indeed, we do not even know how many Chinese employees these POGO operators brought in. Figures from Pagcor, DOLE and BIR don’t match with each other.

The threat to national security and society is obvious. It isn’t as if Duterte is unaware of the dangers. Last year, he said gambling is a magnet for many crimes including kidnap for ransom and extortion.

“Kasi ang gambling kasi, tignan mo… lahat ng kidnapper, extortionists, mga pulis na scalawags, magkidnap sila dyan lang sa kuwarto. Tawagan yung pamilya, ayaw mong magbigay, patayin nila.”

Our great leader knows the dangers, but refuses to do something. In the meantime, we have reasons to worry about him and about those POGOs.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twittert @boochanco