The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) admitted that two Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) accused of kidnapping are still operating in the country.
During a Senate hearing, PAGCOR said one company was just fined around ?500,000 for kidnapping a Filipina who was fooled into thinking she was getting a job while the other didn’t get any punishment at all.
In the interest of fairness, as there were no reports that charges had been filed in court, we will not name the two POGO companies, although one only need to google them to find out.
Nevertheless, we are not amused by PAGCOR’s seeming lack of action despite the seriousness of the allegations.
We have always said nothing good can come out of making gambling easier to access by many --especially those who cannot actually afford to gamble. The social costs are just too great in the way of gambling addiction, insurmountable debt, depression and, ultimately, broken friendships and families.
Now it would seem POGOs don’t just offer a quick way for a fool and his money to be parted; they are also apparently serving as a front for kidnapping.
Why was that one POGO company only fined? Why weren’t charges brought to bear? Even if the Filipina victim was somehow persuaded not to pursue charges herself, the authorities should have pursued it on their own considering how serious the crime was.
Just a fine just isn’t fine. Rich companies can shrug off such penalties and go on their merry way, most likely treading on the same dark path they walked on. It’s even worse if no punishment was meted out as in the case of the second POGO company.
Is PAGCOR valuing profit over anything else? We really can’t blame them; one of their mandates is produce money for the government after all.
However, giving one POGO company accused of kidnapping just a slap on the wrist and letting the other go is tantamount to deliberately looking the other way when a crime is being committed.