PH laws can address Chinese kidnappings
Credit to Author: Philippines News Agency| Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2019 16:13:47 +0000
THE government is strictly implementing laws on Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs), Malacañang has assured, following concerns on the rise of kidnappings involving Chinese.
The Palace made this comment after Sen. Emmanuel Joel Villanueva said kidnapping incidents of Chinese POGO workers showed that the industry’s negative effects to the country outweighed the benefits.
Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo, however, said there were laws that could prevent such crimes from happening.
“We have laws that will cover all imaginable situations or events occurring in relation to POGOs. So, all we have to do is enforce them; and they’re being enforced in fact,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
“If there is violation like for instance, if there are overstaying [aliens] here, they have to be removed in accordance with law,” he added.
Records from the Philippine National Police-Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) show that there were six “POGO-related kidnappings” from January to November 2019.
Panelo had said that Malacañang would leave it to Congress to decide whether or not POGOs should be banned in the Philippines.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang called on the Philippines to ban online gambling, describing it as the “most dangerous tumor in modern society.”
President Rodrigo Duterte, however, rejected the proposed ban, saying it will result in people losing livelihood, but warned operators to pay the right taxes.
Last month, Duterte imposed a three-day deadline for delinquent POGOs to settle their tax liabilities.
He warned that those who failed to comply with his order would face sanctions.
POGO workers’ “compensation, salaries or wages for the services they render here are considered “taxable income” under Section 23 (A) and (D) of the National Internal Revenue Code.
PNA