By Jet D. Antolin
A LAWMAKER in the House of Representatives is now demanding answers from Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary John Ivan Uy for seemingly failing to fulfill his promise to shut down illegal gambling websites in the country in exchange for his confirmation by the Commission on Appointment (CA) in 2022.
Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte raised the demand as it appears that the operation of illegal gambling websites, including Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), continues despite Uy’s pledge to take them down when he was still undergoing confirmation by the CA.
“We would like to know from the IT expert Secretary Ivan (Uy) what the DICT, on his watch, has done so far as regards his 2022 commitment to close down the illegal online gaming sites and then throw the books at these POGOs that have been operating their homepages without Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.) permits,” Villafuerte said.
It appears that Uy did not fulfill his promise as reported by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) Chairman Alejandro Tengco, who stated that only 46 POGOs are licensed while 250 are operating without licenses.
This includes Zun Yuan Technology Inc. in Bamban, Tarlac, and Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga, which are currently under investigation by the Senate for alleged involvement in various criminal activities.
Not included in this count are the illegal e-sabong operations using modern technology that Uy promised to shut down, but it seems that nothing has happened as these illegal gambling operations continue to operate.
