During the joint committee hearing of the House Committees Public Order and Safety, chaired by Rep. Dan Fernandez and Games and Amusements, chaired by Rep. Antonio Ferrer, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) presented torture videos retrieved from raided POGO hubs.
As part of the committee hearing that delves into the proliferation of criminal activities linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO), several torture videos of POGO workers were viewed on Wednesday.
At least four videos were shown by the committee including one female victime who was being hit by a metal pipe and a male victim who was being tasered while naked and tied.
According to Laguna Representative Dan Fernandez, there is also a presence of sexual torture that involves 'man-to-man'.
The representatives found it difficult to stomach the kinds of abusive acts PAOCC presented to the committee.
PAOCC Spokesperson Winston Casio mentioned that these abuses occur whenever the workers were caught escaping the POGO facility.
A female victim was also tortured when she was suspected leaking information regarding the illegal activities in the POGO hub to the authorities.
Due to the brutal nature of the assaults, Lanao del Sur Representative Zia Alonto Adiong moved to halt the presentation. The representative pointed out that not everyone has the tolerance to watch these videos.
"Remember we are livestreaming on YouTube and there are kids who may view these videos," Adiong said.
"A testimony is enough," he added.
However, Leyte Representative Richard Gomez argued that presenting the videos were necessary in order to raise awareness as to what is really happening on the insides of these POGOs.
"Gruesome as it may be to show these videos, but it is very important for everyone to see what is happening inside the POGO," Gomez said.
"Sad as it may seem, pero dapat makita talaga ng tao," he added.
Rep. Fernandez agreed on the stance of Rep. Gomez and emphasized the significance of having measures that aims to protect not only the Filipinos, but also foreign nationals.
"Mabigat man po 'yung mga eksena, but we have to tell to the Filipino people and to the international community that this country [Philippines], this government is doing something," Fernandez said.
