By Benjamin Pulta | Philippine News Agency
The Supreme Court has asked the Senate to comment on a petition filed by suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, but has not handed down an order granting her plea to stop the legislative chamber from summoning her in its inquiries into Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hubs operating in Pampanga.
“The Court required the Senate Committee (on Women, Children, Family Relations, & Gender Equality) to file its comment to the petition and prayer for TRO (temporary restraining order), within a non-extendible period of ten days from notice,” Court spokesperson Camille Ting said in a message to reporters.
“The Court further required the Office of the Clerk of Court En Banc to personally serve the court’s resolution on the respondent (Senate), which shall likewise personally file and serve its comment,” she added.
Ting also clarified that at the moment, no TRO or other injunctive relief has yet been issued by the Court.
Guo’s camp earlier filed a petition before the Supreme Court asking to annul the subpoena ad testificandum issued by the Senate committee against Guo and members of her family.
Meanwhile, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero assured Guo and her family that the Senate would provide her enough security should they decide to surrender.
The Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality on July 10 cited Guo and seven others in contempt for refusing to attend the Senate inquiry into the raided POGOs in Tarlac and Pampanga.
In a media interview, Escudero said he has instructed the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) to coordinate with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to impose the arrest warrant should Guo still refuse to show up at the Senate.
According to Guo’s legal counsel, Stephen David, the suspended Bamban mayor is contemplating whether she would surrender or attend the Senate inquiry.
During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means on Tuesday, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the majority of the resource persons supported the bills banning POGOs and other forms of online gambling.
“Because of all these raids and bad publicity, the international press picked up a lot of these raids and crimes being committed by POGOs in our country… Because of this bad international publicity, it affected a lot of our efforts in attracting foreign direct investment, attracting tourists, and a lot of these negative publicities definitely affected our image in the international standing,” Gatchalian said.
He requested the Department of Labor and Employment to submit proposals on how the government can provide livelihood for the estimated 20,000 local workers who will be displaced by the ban on POGOs.
The Department of Finance (DOF) has already submitted a recommendation to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ban POGOs.
At the Senate hearing, DOF Assistant Secretary Karlo Adriano said the ongoing operation of POGOs costs the country P99.25 billion each year due to loss of investment opportunities, additional expenses of law enforcement, and impact on tourism.
“The estimated total economic benefits of POGOs amount to P166.49 billion annually while the estimated total economic costs amount to P265.74 billion,” Adriano told the panel. (with a report from Leonel Abasola)
