TURNING POINT: Justice and Accountability

NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 21 September) – The continuing House (of Representatives) investigation on the operations of illegal POGO and the trade of dangerous drugs reveals that a powerful Chinese syndicate ran these criminal activities, the overlord of which is Michael Yang, who was close then to Davao City mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Yang became the economic adviser of Duterte when he became president of the Republic.

Duterte declared war on dangerous drugs to fulfill his campaign promise to end the drug menace. The war entailed the death by extra-judicial killings (EJK) of more than 20,000 drug users, peddlers, and innocent civilians (considered by then Philippine National Police chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, the architect and executioner of the drug war, as collateral damage); but, the primus of dangerous drugs remained scot-free. The drug problem persists to this day.

On February 15, 2016, Duterte issued Executive Order 13 to regulate online gambling, where which surfaced later the entity known as the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) under the supervision of the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (PAGOR). In a little while, illegal POGOs proliferate beyond the hands of PAGCOR.

The operations of illegal POGOs which tapped undocumented foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, spawn serious crimes like money laundering, human trafficking, forced labor, torture, and murder.

Michael Yang and his elder brother Antonio are (allegedly) not only in POGO and the business of drugs but also in rice smuggling; they control a rice cartel and manipulate the distribution and the prices of rice.

Two days ago, Antonio Yang was arrested as an undesirable alien at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport with a million pesos and more in cash.

Last week, Alice Guo aka Guo Hua Ping, the dismissed mayor of Bamban, Tarlac and (alleged) operator of an illegal POGO, was charged and arrested for qualified human trafficking, and is now detained at the Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory.

Indeed, it’s high time those responsible for the unspeakable crimes are made accountable. The Department of Justice should not allow any stone left unturned by filing cases against the other perpetrators of the crimes to do justice to the victims; and pay damages to their families.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. William R. Adan, Ph.D., is retired professor and former chancellor of Mindanao State University at Naawan, Misamis Oriental.)