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NewsTranscript
00:00According to the local officials of PORAC, Pogo is one of the affected areas.
00:07Pogo is said to have been affected by many questionable documents and was given a business permit.
00:14Let's talk to Darlene Kai.
00:2010 hectares of land, 46 houses, thousands of employees.
00:27Pogo Hub in PORAC, Pampanga is that big and wide.
00:32It was raided by the authorities on June 4 due to the operation without a permit.
00:36According to the reports, it was hit by crimes such as torture, kidnapping, human trafficking, sex trafficking, and scamming.
00:45It is said to be the biggest illegal Pogo in the country.
00:49So the question is, how did it reach the government?
00:56That is what was discussed in a public hearing held by the Pampanga Regional Government.
01:02We don't know anything.
01:04What we know is that we have a lot of trust in the LGU, in Mayor Ging,
01:08that the LGU is the one who should report if there is a danger, if there is a new business.
01:16I will not tolerate any crime in our territory.
01:26I will reiterate, I will stand my position.
01:30I'm not protecting Pogo or anyone.
01:33The local government officials of PORAC were one of the hearings led by Mayor Kapil.
01:38It came out in the hearing that Lucky South 99, an operator of Pogo Hub, was given a business permit from 2019 to 2023,
01:48despite the lack of requirements and documents.
01:52They do not have a permit from the DENR Environmental Management Bureau.
01:57They are also short of the occupancy permits they need.
02:01The Provincial Board members and the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry were also surprised
02:06that within a day, Lucky South 99 was given a business permit in 2019.
02:12I am the current Business Permit and Licensing Officer, I just assumed office.
02:17Based on the records that I have now, they applied for an application around November 11 of 2019.
02:26When was the business permit issued?
02:29That same day, sir.
02:31On the same day?
02:32November 11.
02:34We will investigate on the same day.
02:37According to the Business Permit and Licensing Office,
02:41they just pre-processed the business permit application based on the documents given to them.
02:46Mayor, I just want to ask, before you issued a permit for the buildings, did you conduct an inspection?
02:52Actually, it was just a routine inspection.
02:55There are also a lot of questionable things in the documents issued by Lucky South 99 every year.
03:01Based on their business permit application from 2019 to 2023,
03:06their employees are just playing with 2 to 7.
03:11PORAC-LGU also did not issue a business permit to Pogo Hub this year
03:15because of the violation seen by the BFP.
03:18Mayor Capil said that this proves that he does not approve of Lucky South 99.
03:24Based on the documents given by PORAC-LGU in the committee hearing,
03:29PORAC-PNP asked for assistance twice from the LGU
03:33to inspect Lucky South 99 Pogo Hub,
03:36one on August 25, 2023,
03:39and the last one on March 24, 2024.
03:43The LGU entered and inspected the Lucky South 99 Pogo Hub with the local police
03:49in August of last year.
03:52Based on the inspection report they submitted,
03:55they saw that there was no drainage canal outside the compound,
03:58which is why a lot of water was leaking.
04:00Why is the report drainage?
04:02What is drainage? Is that the intent?
04:05We were assisted also by the PNP.
04:07However, we did not receive findings on the part of PNP
04:14pursuant to their specific request.
04:17Just this March, PNP wrote again to PORAC-LGU.
04:21According to Police Colonel Levy Basilio,
04:23the Provincial Director of Pampanga to PORAC Mayor Capil,
04:26they received reports on illegal operations
04:30such as money laundering, kidnapping, and other violence in the Pogo Hub in PORAC.
04:35That is why they are asking for help from the LGU
04:38to inspect and close the Pogo companies in PORAC that do not have a permit.
04:43But first, Mayor Capil said,
04:46they were not allowed to enter the compound.
04:49Even the PAOC, they need a search warrant to enter the premises.
04:55That is why we do not have power.
04:58The officials of the Pampanga Provincial Government also approved
05:01a very small real property tax and payment for the renewal of the business license
05:07even though it is a very big business of Lucky South 99.
05:10In total, it is only P14,000 per year.
05:14I think my problem is that when I sat down, PORAC did not have a tax mapping.
05:19But in 2019, when I sat down, I got a directive that we need to have a tax mapping.
05:27We cannot blame them.
05:29It's already there, Jing. It's 2019.
05:32But you still have a patent for P4,000 per billion.
05:35One year.
05:36Vice Governor Pineda said,
05:38in the vastness of the Pogo Hub,
05:40the ameliar and business license fees of Lucky South 99 should already be P4,000,000,000.
05:45The Pogo operator also said,
05:49based on the letter of no objection or lono that was given to them in 2019,
05:54Lucky South 99's business is BPO or Business Process Outsourcing.
05:59They did not say anything that has anything to do with gaming.
06:03That is why the Provincial Government's question is,
06:05if this is the permit that came from the LGU, why was the PAGCOR license given?
06:10This is also what the LGU officials said,
06:13to sign the lono and give them the permit.
06:16In all of this, the officials of the Pampanga Provincial Government's question is,
06:21why did the LGU officials not immediately inform about the violations and misconduct of Lucky South 99?
06:27For PAOC, the LGU's statements are very curious.
06:32What transpired in Porac is a very strange occurrence.
06:39Why?
06:40They did not give the Mayor's permit for 2024.
06:45But from January up until June 4, the place was operating.
06:52If the people from Metro Manila, PAOC, DOJ, CIDG,
06:57were able to notice this particular skunk farm operating without an LGU permit,
07:05how come the eyes and ears of our government, which is the LGU, was unable to notice that?
07:15The possible answer of the local government is also included in PAOC's investigation.
07:20The task force was formed, the Department of Interior and Local Government or DILG,
07:26to investigate the local government.
07:29According to Vice Governor Pineda,
07:31they will recommend to the Panlawigan ng Pagbanang Pogo in the entire province of Pampanga,
07:36legal or not.
07:38They will also study the evidence to know if they should also recommend the suspension of the Porac LGU officials.
07:47Darlene Kaye reporting for GMA Integrated News.
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