Senator Sherwin Gatchalian recommended that Porac, Pampanga's mayor be suspended over the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in his town.
Raymund Dadpaas reported that Gatchalian, of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, recommended the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) suspend Mayor Jaime "Jing" Capil for negligence, as he was unable to monitor the operations of the immense 46-building POGO complex in his municipality.
Gatchalian's ocular inspection yielded evidence of various crimes, including scamming activities, prostitution, and torture.
"Sa laki nga nito (the POGO hub), ang unang tanong ko: paano nakalusot 'to sa Local Government Unit (LGU), paano rin nalusot 'to sa barangay? Ang mayor mayroong napakalawak na kapangyarihan niyan. Puwede niyang in-inspeksyon 'yung sanitation," Gatchalian reasoned.
("With the [POGO's] immensity my first question is: how did this slip through the Local Government Unit, how did this also slip through the barangay [officials]? A mayor has enormous power. He could have inspected the sanitation.")
The senator said LGUs and barangay officials must be held accountable, particularly for an oversight of this scale.
"Para sa'kin, hindi puwedeng alisin ang local government 'yung kanilang accountability. Hindi puwedeng alisin ang barangay 'yung kanilang accountability. Lalo na sa ganitong scale, dahil 2,000 dayuhan ang pumapasok, lumalabas, pumapasok, lumalabas--at hindi ka pinapapasok doon sa lugar. Eh dapat nagdududa ka na kaagad," he declared.
("For me, you cannot take away the accountability of local governments. You cannot take away the accountability of barangay [officials]. Especially at this scale, because 2,000 foreigners are entering, leaving, entering, leaving--and you aren't allowed in the place. You should be skeptical straight away.")
Gatchalian added it should have been a "red flag" that the mayor, the barangay captain was not allowed entry.
Although the DILG has no authority to impose a suspension, the matter could be raised to the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB), as was done with Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, the senator said.
Gatchalian revealed that Guo's ties with this POGO hub are being investigated, as the people who established the POGO in Bamban, Tarlac are the same ones behind the POGO operations in Porac, Pampanga.
