POGO hubs disguised as resorts, restaurants
BANNED from operating by the end of the year, Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) are disguising themselves as resorts and restaurants to hide their illegal operations, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Wednesday. Remulla disclosed this when he attended his confirmation hearing before the Commission on Appointments (CA). Asked about the government campaign to shut down POGOs by the end of the year, he cited the raid in Lapu-Lapu City last August, where workers from the closed POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga, transferred. The National Bureau of Investigation director in Central Visayas (NBI-7), Rennan Augusto Oliva, said they acted upon reports that the hotel had become a POGO hub. Remulla said these POGOs obtained business permits from the local government. He said he would issue a memorandum circular to remind mayors of their duty to inspect business establishments. "Mayors should use their power to visit business establishments in their jurisdictions and close them if necessary ... because they are responsible if something illegal slips through," he said. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla. PHOTOS BY J. GERARD SEGUIA In an interview at the Senate, Remulla reiterated his promise that on Dec. 15, he would personally go and ensure that the POGO complex in Island Cove in Cavite Province, where he served as governor and held other positions, is closed. The Remulla family previously owned the large lot in Island Cove, where what is considered the largest POGO complex in the country was built. Earlier in the day, Sen. Risa Hontiveros flagged the "alarming trend" of emerging guerrilla scam operations, allegedly taking over POGOs during marathon plenary debates on the proposed 2025 funding of the Department of Information and Communications and Technology (DICT). She asked Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who was speaking on behalf of DICT as the agency's budget sponsor, how they intend to address the supposed trend. "Following the welcome declaration of the President banning POGOs, our law enforcement officers have found an alarming trend that instead of using POGOs as regulatory cover, guerrilla scam operators are now emerging, perhaps even harder to detect. What can the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) do to address this?" Hontiveros asked. Gatchalian reported that the CICC has managed to apprehend 11 scam hubs, both legal and illegal, that are linked to these operations. "This is in cooperation with various law enforcement agencies such as the Philippine National Police (PNP) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and they have the technology to also detect scam hubs in the country, and they also have a hotline that people can call this type of scamming operation," said Gatchalian. During the hearing, Remulla also clarified that no PNP general would be fired in his proposed reduction in the number of police generals as part of his plan to streamline the police force. He did not say, however, how this reduction would be achieved. He earlier said that there were too many police generals and that some of them were redundant, increasing the government's expenditure on pensions. Remulla wants to limit police generals to 25 but admits that it will be difficult to make it happen, so his new goal is to keep it at 100. He said in his study, he found that there were police generals who did not lead a unit and had no staff. Some were also not necessary. In the National Capital Region police office, he said that the chief was a one-star general, and his deputy was also a one-star general. He also said there were nine police generals in different area police commands with only three staff. Remulla said he would ask Congress for help to amend the Civil Service Law, which allows policemen to be eligible for promotion every three years, similar to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, where promotion is allowed every five years. He is also consulting the UP College of Public Administration to make recommendations, which he will submit to President Marcos and Congress for consideration. Remulla said the President supported his plans for the PNP.
Tomas Kauer - Moderator 
BANNED from operating by the end of the year, Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) are disguising themselves as resorts and restaurants to hide their illegal operations, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Wednesday.
Remulla disclosed this when he attended his confirmation hearing before the Commission on Appointments (CA).
Asked about the government campaign to shut down POGOs by the end of the year, he cited the raid in Lapu-Lapu City last August, where workers from the closed POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga, transferred.
The National Bureau of Investigation director in Central Visayas (NBI-7), Rennan Augusto Oliva, said they acted upon reports that the hotel had become a POGO hub.
Remulla said these POGOs obtained business permits from the local government.
He said he would issue a memorandum circular to remind mayors of their duty to inspect business establishments.
"Mayors should use their power to visit business establishments in their jurisdictions and close them if necessary ... because they are responsible if something illegal slips through," he said. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla. PHOTOS BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
In an interview at the Senate, Remulla reiterated his promise that on Dec. 15, he would personally go and ensure that the POGO complex in Island Cove in Cavite Province, where he served as governor and held other positions, is closed.
The Remulla family previously owned the large lot in Island Cove, where what is considered the largest POGO complex in the country was built.
Earlier in the day, Sen. Risa Hontiveros flagged the "alarming trend" of emerging guerrilla scam operations, allegedly taking over POGOs during marathon plenary debates on the proposed 2025 funding of the Department of Information and Communications and Technology (DICT).
She asked Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who was speaking on behalf of DICT as the agency's budget sponsor, how they intend to address the supposed trend.
"Following the welcome declaration of the President banning POGOs, our law enforcement officers have found an alarming trend that instead of using POGOs as regulatory cover, guerrilla scam operators are now emerging, perhaps even harder to detect. What can the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) do to address this?" Hontiveros asked.
Gatchalian reported that the CICC has managed to apprehend 11 scam hubs, both legal and illegal, that are linked to these operations.
"This is in cooperation with various law enforcement agencies such as the Philippine National Police (PNP) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and they have the technology to also detect scam hubs in the country, and they also have a hotline that people can call this type of scamming operation," said Gatchalian.
During the hearing, Remulla also clarified that no PNP general would be fired in his proposed reduction in the number of police generals as part of his plan to streamline the police force. He did not say, however, how this reduction would be achieved.
He earlier said that there were too many police generals and that some of them were redundant, increasing the government's expenditure on pensions.
Remulla wants to limit police generals to 25 but admits that it will be difficult to make it happen, so his new goal is to keep it at 100.
He said in his study, he found that there were police generals who did not lead a unit and had no staff. Some were also not necessary.
In the National Capital Region police office, he said that the chief was a one-star general, and his deputy was also a one-star general.
He also said there were nine police generals in different area police commands with only three staff.
Remulla said he would ask Congress for help to amend the Civil Service Law, which allows policemen to be eligible for promotion every three years, similar to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, where promotion is allowed every five years.
He is also consulting the UP College of Public Administration to make recommendations, which he will submit to President Marcos and Congress for consideration.
Remulla said the President supported his plans for the PNP.
