It is not often that sensible ideas come out of Senator Raffy Tulfo’s mouth, but sometimes, they do and we give him credit for this.
We refer to Raffy Tulfo’s recent tirades aimed at the remnants of POGO or Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators and what he called as PIGO or Philippine Internet Gaming Operators. Since all gambling are supposed to be supervised by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.,
Tulfo’s criticisms were also directed at them. These all occurred at the Senate games and amusement committee hearing last Feb. 13.
Tulfo is correct this time in criticizing Pagcor for promoting PIGO, or the online games which can be played even with the use of a cellphone. This form of gambling victimizes Filipinos, not foreigners who are the main customers of POGO. They are using their e-wallets to gamble online, instead of buying food and other necessities.
The senator foresees that the day will come when many ordinary Filipinos will be deep in debts because of PIGO, and criminal activities will have a field day.
The regulator reported that there are now some 50 private operators of PIGO, and promised to rein in the numbers.
As if to offer some remorse, a female Pagcor official said this state gambling firm has programs to ban gamblers who have become hopelessly compulsive, ruining their lives and the lives of their family members. Even relatives can petition or complain to Pagcor about this problem.
We find this absurd. It is like abetting alcoholism, then saying that there’s AA anyway to mitigate the problem.
About POGOs, the people made a loud applause when President Bongbong announced that these scam-prone enterprises would be phased out by December 31, 2024.But it seems some of them are still around, and Pagcor and other law enforcement agencies and task forces cannot do anything about them. Except of course to say that these are just “guerilla operations.”
The SONA audience last June clapped their hands for nothing.
Senator Tulfo has called out the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for the seeming lackluster performance in the deportation of foreigners involved in illegal POGOs.
He wanted the BI to do its job well, and not just look for opportunities to make money.
The senator also hit the Department of Social Welfare and Development for giving “ayuda” to POGO workers who lost their jobs. He said the cash assistance would be of better use if given to the poor citizens of the country, who really need it most.
Tulfo has all the reason to be active as a senator these days—to show the people that he is doing something good, productive and useful.
This is because there are two other Tulfos who just might be in the Senate after the May elections, his brothers. There are Tulfos, too, in the House of Representatives, aside from a Tulfo Tourism party-list running in these elections.
With so many of them, we might as well rename the Legislative branch as the House of Tulfo.
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