EDITORIAL — Stopping ‘POGO politics’

There’s narco-politics, so it isn’t farfetched that Philippine offshore gaming operator firms have financed election campaigns and other political activities in this country. The specter of “POGO politics” is being raised as one of the arguments for the abolition in this country of all forms of offshore gaming, where funds are difficult to trace.

This reform effort targeting dirty money, however, shouldn’t stop at the narco politicians, some of whom saw their families annihilated during the bloody crackdown on illegal drugs in the previous administration. And the reform effort should go beyond the suspected POGO politicians led by embattled Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac.

Dirty money can finance election campaigns in this country because there is an enabling environment for it. The reform should start with campaign finance regulation, which election officials have been prodding Congress to legislate for many years now. Lawmakers, however, have consistently resisted any attempt to genuinely regulate and promote transparency in campaign finance.

Election campaigns are among the biggest funnels for dirty money in this country. Jueteng lords, drug traffickers, kidnappers, terrorists, smugglers and a slew of corrupt figures have laundered the proceeds of criminal activities to enter politics. There are rudimentary rules governing campaign finance, such as the mandatory reporting of contributions and expenditures to the Commission on Elections. Comelec officials, however, have admitted difficulty in verifying the declarations.

Alice Guo is now facing a tax probe in connection with allegations that she is a coddler of illegal POGO activities. Similar probes should be conducted on many other public officials with questionable wealth. This shouldn’t prove too difficult since such officials usually flaunt the wealth, in violation of Republic Act 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

Tax declarations can be compared with the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth that every government official is required to submit, to ferret out not just tax evasion but also money laundering. The protection provided by Ombudsman Samuel Martires through his impressive shielding of the SALNs from the public does not apply to investigations conducted by the anti-money laundering and tax police. The ongoing scrutiny of Alice Guo’s finances and activities should open the doors to a wider reform effort.