Sen. Lito Lapid denied a blog post insinuating that his family owned the 10-hectare property Lucky South 99 leased for its Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) operation in Porac.
"I want to prove in this hearing that I have nothing to do with the POGO operation and that the ten hectares of land are not under my name. I am challenging you here. If they prove I am involved, I can resign as a senator. Because I will not allow my name to be ruined here," a visibly irritated Lapid told the hearing.
In addition, the senator urged fellow Poraqueño Mayor Jing Capil to clear their tarnished names due to false allegations involving the Lucky South 99 POGO operation.
He said that Mayor Jaime 'Jing' Capil has done a great job managing their town, and he is deeply saddened that the mayor's good deeds and reputation are being tarnished because of the alleged illegal activities discovered by authorities inside the said POGO premises.
Meanwhile, Mayor Capil said he would "bravely face the Senate to prove that the allegations against him and the town were wrong."
Capil told senators on Wednesday his office did not approve the operation of Lucky South 99 Outsourcing, the controversial Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO), at the height of the pandemic.
Capil further said they were busy delivering aid during the pandemic and that the POGO area can only be accessed through Angeles City, so they were unaware of the construction activities.
The mayor clarified that when they inspected the premises in 2023 with personnel from the Philippine National Police, they were prevented from entering the main buildings and only allowed inside the security office.
The mayor explained that a search warrant is legally necessary to conduct a search at the POGO hub and stressed the importance of respecting legal procedures.
In 2021, PAGCOR issued a POGO license to the company based on the LONO obtained from Porac Sanggunian Bayan.
In the same year, up to 2023, Porac LGU issued Business Permits to the company as a POGO operator. PAGCOR needed to communicate formally to Porac LGU that Lucky South 99's license had expired.
This year, LuckySouth 99 failed to obtain a permit from the LGU due to a fire violation.
Capil also added that illegal activities would not have been possible only if PAGCOR had conducted regular inspections of POGO operations.
"It would not have been possible if PAGCOR representatives saw the illegal activities happening inside the premises," he said, adding that PAGCOR should have properly monitored LuckySouth 99's POGO operations.
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