What happens now?

Over the past few weeks, we have enjoyed quite a show from a number of congressional investigations at the Senate and the House.

- BOO CHANCO

In the past, such public hearings were more like bad entertainment. But our legislators are getting better so we learned a lot of things that would have otherwise remained officially hidden from us.

The most disconcerting confirmation we got from the hearings is that our national security has been terribly compromised because of rampant corruption at all levels of government. Spies from China, a potential adversary, have been able to penetrate our government and who knows how many of them are entrenched by pretending to be Filipinos, complete with seemingly authentic birth certificates sold to them by a local civil registrar.

A documentary by Al Jazeera on a confessed Chinese spy imprisoned in Thailand revealed that the deposed mayor of a Tarlac town was one of the spies sent by China to the Philippines. Of course, she vehemently denied this allegation. If it is verified to be true, it would be a significant intelligence lapse.

The hearings at the House established that the massive inflow of Chinese workers and money supposedly to run the POGOS allowed Chinese criminal elements to plant their roots here. The officials of the Presidential Anti Organized Crime Commission found evidence of criminal activities including human trafficking, torture, money laundering and international digital scamming operations in the POGO establishments they have raided.

The one conclusion we have ascertained from the hearings is PAGCOR's incapability of regulating POGO operations. We ought to remain vigilant that no variation of POGOS will be allowed to operate by another name at year-end, the deadline BBM gave to end all of their operations. There will be those who will try to convince BBM to make exemptions to his closure order.