LIVE: Former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña at House hearing on Pogos, EJK

Former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña attends the joint committee meeting at the House of Representatives on Thursday, September 19. | Photo: Screencapped from House of Representatives Live Video

Former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña is at the joint committee meeting at the House of Representatives on Thursday, September 19, 2024.

Osmeña was invited to provide insights into the recent raid on an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) site in Lapu-Lapu City and ongoing investigations into extrajudicial killings.

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Ex-Cebu City Mayor Osmeña invited to house probe on POGOs, EJKs

In a letter dated, September 16, the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Public Accounts invited  Osmeña to attend a hearing on Thursday to serve as a resource person.

The committee is investigating the operations of illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and their potential links to extra-judicial killings, including an August raid in Lapu-Lapu City.

Osmeña, who served as mayor of Cebu City for multiple terms, is expected to provide testimony regarding the August 8 raid in Sitio Kadulang, Barangay Marigondon, Lapu-Lapu City, during which authorities uncovered a large illegal POGO operation.

The raid resulted in the rescue of 162 foreign nationals, including 83 Chinese, 70 Indonesians, six Myanmar nationals, one Malaysian, and two Taiwanese, who were allegedly involved in illegal scamming activities. The illegal hub operated inside the Tourist Garden Hotel in Barangay Agus, Lapu-Lapu City.