ENCROACHMENT OF THE LAW

August 10, 2024 Opinion

The ongoing House of Representatives probe on the Philippine Online Gaming Operators (POGO) controversy apparently got a shot in the arm when the legislative inquiry was consolidated with other concerns being investigated
by other committees in the Lower House of Congress. The move was to consolidate the four different House
committees investigating POGOs, the extrajudicial killings during the previous administration, the involvement of Chinese crime syndicates and the selling of illegal drugs into one super investigative body called “Quad Comm.”

This was done after the realization that all of these controversies and issues have one common thread linking them, and that is their genesis during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte. The House committees
joined together for the purpose are the Committee on Dangerous Drugs chaired by Representative Robert Ace Barbers, the Committee on Human Rights chaired by Representative Bienvenido Abante, the Committee on Public Order and Safety chaired by Representative Dan Fernandez, and the Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Representative Joseph Stephen Paduano.

Later it was widely reported in the media that the ‘Quad Comm.’ members intend to invite former President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Ronald dela Rosa, as well as other concerned personalities, to give their side and provide details regarding the previous drug war and the existence and widespread operation of POGO hubs in the country. With four major concerns to contend with the Quad Comm should give their entire focus equally on all of these controversies making sure that it is not coloured with any political undertones or elevating one controversy a priority and the other three relegated in the background.

For the moment the Quad Comm should take immediate notice of the revelations made during a hearing of the House committee on public order and safety that former President Duterte may have encroached upon the power of Congress to legislate in an executive order he issued that allegedly allowed POGOs to establish themselves and proliferate in the Philippines. If this is true then the former president may have violated a fundamental principle in our system of government which is the separation of powers.

The presidential instruction was contained in Executive Order no 13 issued on February 2, 2017 less than a year after Duterte was elected president. According to Batangas Representative Gerville Luistro of the committee on public
order and safety the said Executive Order, “brought online gambling to life and I do not understand why this should circumvent the law that was passed by Congress creating the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).” He added that the law creating PAGCOR makes no mention of online gambling and the first time it was mentioned was in one of the whereases of the said executive order.

A perusal of Executive Order No. 13 shows in Section 3 thereof and stating, “Clarification on Online Gambling. No duly licensed online gambling operator, or provider of activities and services related to or in support of online
gambling activities, shall directly or indirectly allow persons who are physically located outside the territorial jurisdiction of the licensing authority to place bets, or in any way participate, in the games conducted by such operator, whether through an online portal or similar means.

Nothing herein, however, shall prohibit the duly licensed online gambling operator from allowing the participation of persons physically located outside Philippine territory.” According to Rep. Luistro the last sentence in the above section of the order allowed POGOs to operate in the Philippines. Also, during a previous committee hearing the head of the PAGCOR, Alejandro Tengco admitted that EO No. 13 served as their basis in regulating the operation of POGOs.

The point being made by Representative Luistro is that EO NO. 13 issued by former president Duterte amended the law creating PAGCOR when it allowed “persons physically located outside Philippine territory” to participate in online gambling here in the Philippines, this is because online gambling of that nature is not included in the charter of PAGCOR. However, it behooves to further lend clarification on this matter since Section 3 of EO No. 13 itself is with the intention to provide clarity to so called online gambling.

Indeed, while PAGCOR’s charter does not mention POGOs’ or offshore gaming it does in fact regulate other kinds of online gaming or gambling with its authority limited to the territorial jurisdiction of the Republic of the Philippines.
Likewise, the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) which was created by law already had an offshore gaming system called I games or interactive gaming, and because of its charter is not governed by the regulatory scheme of
PAGCOR. It must be noted however that the charters or the law creating PAGCOR and CEZA were legislations enacted in Congress, the authorized and recognized lawmaking body of the government.

So the question really is did former president Duterte in the exercise of his executive power authorize or allow the expansion of the concept of online gaming or gambling nationwide through the so called offshore gaming without any supporting law decreed by Congress. If the answer is in the affirmative then the former president has transgressed the time honored principle of separation of powers in government.