{"id":247168,"date":"2020-03-05T20:09:49","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T01:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=247168"},"modified":"2020-03-05T20:09:49","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T01:09:49","slug":"duterte-never-soft-on-anything-related-to-national-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/03\/05\/duterte-never-soft-on-anything-related-to-national-interest\/","title":{"rendered":"Duterte \u2018never soft\u2019 on anything related to national interest"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his speech during the oath-taking ceremony of the officers of the Malaca\u00f1ang Press Corps, Presidential Photojournalists Association, and Malaca\u00f1ang Cameramen Association at the Malaca\u00f1an Palace on September 10, 2019. ALFRED FRIAS\/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Malaca\u00f1ang denied on Thursday that President Rodrigo Duterte is keeping a \u201csoft\u201d stance with China amid scandals plaguing the Chinese-run Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).<\/p>\n

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the remarks a day after Senator Richard Gordon claimed that Duterte being soft on China triggered the problems hounding the POGO industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI disagree. Many (do) not know this President. The President is never soft on anything that relates to the national interest. He\u2019s a very decisive President,\u201d Panelo said in a press conference.<\/p>\n

There has been a move from the Senate to declare POGOs as \u201cillegal\u201d due to the supposed influx of crimes in the Philippines linked to the online gaming.<\/p>\n

Money laundering, corruption, and prostitution are among the issues besetting POGOs.<\/p>\n

The offshore gaming firms are also accused of violating the Philippine laws on labor, tax, immigration, and national security.<\/p>\n

Panelo said President Duterte has already directed all concerned government agencies to look into the problems hounding POGOs.<\/p>\n

He ensured that Duterte would take a \u201cdecisive\u201d action with regard to the controversies surrounding the online gaming.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny malpractice, any corruption, (and) any irregularity relative to any activity or project in this government are always being investigated. And after the findings, the President will act, as always, decisively,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t rush PRRD<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Gordon said Duterte\u2019s alleged lenient treatment of China might have fueled other government agencies to tolerate the crimes connected to POGOs.<\/p>\n

Gordon also accused the Palace of being \u201churt\u201d whenever China is involved in several scandals in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Panelo vehemently denied Gordon\u2019s allegations.<\/p>\n

\u201c(It) is wrong. I cannot even understand why he\u2019s saying that… Certainly, we are not hurt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Panelo said Duterte is not in a hurry to decide on the POGOs\u2019 fate.<\/p>\n

Duterte, as a \u201cjudicious\u201d president, needs to see a \u201ccomprehensive report\u201d on offshore gaming companies before making a decision, Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s difficult (for Duterte to decide). You know, when the President decides on something, he has the goods to back up his decision. If he has not received a comprehensive report on these illegal practices, then you cannot hurry him up.\u00a0Ganoon si Presidente<\/em>. (That\u2019s how the President acts),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Economic benefits from POGOs<\/strong><\/p>\n

To date, there are 60 licensed POGOs operating in the country.<\/p>\n

The government, however, has imposed a moratorium on new licenses for POGOs, following controversies hurled against the online gaming.<\/p>\n

Panelo said Duterte still believes that the country needs POGOs to further boost its economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince it\u2019s still operating,\u00a0wala pa siyang sinasabi na<\/em>\u00a0(he has yet to say that) he\u2019s against it,” he said, when quizzed if Duterte is against POGOs’ operations.<\/p>\n

Panelo also noted that in the last three years, the government collected PHP17 billion from POGOs.<\/p>\n

He added that there is also a plan of Duterte to make the earnings from POGOs as a \u201chuge source\u201d for the proposed salary increase for nurses in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must remember that the POGO is giving us PHP17 billion in the last three years. Prior to this, we\u2019re only receiving about PHP57 million on online gambling. In another words, it\u2019s a huge source of income for this government where it can be used to all kinds of projects,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

Panelo also said it would be better for the government to \u201creview, evaluate, streamline, and improve\u201d the \u201cwrong\u201d with the system on the POGO industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll agencies involved must do their job so that any corruption, any unlawful acts can be either neutralized or completely stopped,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 Malaca\u00f1ang denied on Thursday that President Rodrigo Duterte is keeping a \u201csoft\u201d stance with China amid scandals plaguing the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":230558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247168"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247169,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247168\/revisions\/247169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}