Pampanga, Tarlac POGOs have illegal water pump stations

MANILA, Philippines — The massive online gaming hubs in Pampanga and Tarlac raided in June for alleged illegal activities were found to have installed their own water pumping stations that illegally drew from groundwater, according to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).

With the discovery of the pumping stations by PAOCC operatives last Friday, more criminal cases would be leveled against individuals linked to the two Philippine online gaming operator (POGO) hubs in Bamban, Tarlac and in Porac, Pampanga.

PAOCC found the water pumping facilities last Friday during inspection of the establishments owned by the Zun Yuan Technology Inc. and Lucky South 99.

PAOCC executive director Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said the pumping stations explain the scandalously low water bills of the two POGO hubs, ranging only from P1,000 to P3,000 a month.

“This is unthinkable for an establishment that can accommodate 3,000 to 5,000 people,” Cruz said in an interview aired over ABSCBN’s “TV Patrol” Friday night. He added the operation of the pumping stations violated environmental laws.

“This kind of deep well has massive environmental impact, therefore more cases are being readied,” PAOCC spokesman Winston John Casio said over dwPM.

Casio said local officials from the two municipalities may also be held liable for possible complicity in the illegal activities of the two POGO hubs.

Bamban Mayor Alice Guo has gone into hiding after the Senate ordered her arrest for refusing to attend the hearings on POGO irregularities by the committee on women, family and gender equality chaired by Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, a staunch critic of POGO, slammed Guo for accusing the senators in a Facebook post of being “fixated” on her.

“She gives herself too much importance. Our investigation is in aid of legislation. She should just face the Senate and answer to the evidence we have against her,” Gatchalian said over dwIZ.

He said Guo was diverting public attention from the issue at hand when she said the country is facing more pressing problems than her being linked to POGOs.

“She is diverting the people’s attention, but we are determined to arrest her and hold her accountable. She is still an elected mayor. She is accountable to the public,” Gatchalian said.

“The bottomline is, she does not want to appear in the Senate because we were able to corner her with strong evidence,” Gatchalian said.

He said a public official like Guo should set the example in the observance of the rule of law.

“I am disappointed in her because she is still a duly elected official duty bound to respect the law,” Gatchalian said. — Emmanuel Tupas