Marcos orders intensified drive vs POGOs
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Thursday ordered law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies to conduct an intensified drive against existing Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) as they have continued operating on a small scale.
Marcos gave this instruction during the 2nd Joint National Peace and Order Council (NPOC)-Regional Peace and Order Councils (RPOCs) meeting for 2024 in Camp Crame.
Marcos ordered POGOs closed as these have become sources of criminal activities.
The number of licensed POGOs peaked in 2019 with 298, before it declined to 48 this year.
All POGO licenses will be revoked on Dec. 15.
In a news release, the Presidential Communications Office said Marcos directed the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to conduct "smaller but multiple operations" against operating POGOs.
Marcos told local chief executives to coordinate with the Department of the Interior and Local Government in going after POGOs in their areas.
In a Facebook post, Marcos warned that POGOs and Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs) that attempt to illegally operate will face the “full force of the law”.
“These operations will never be allowed to wreak havoc again. Anyone who attempts to conduct illegal operations will face the full force of our law,” he added.
According to the PCO, 53, 700 POGOS canceled their licenses, 18 IGLs voluntarily canceled their licenses, while 27 IGLs are in the process of closing down.
In a press briefing, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said they will be monitoring POGOs and IGLs that might use business process outsourcing (BPO) firms as fronts.
“The President emphasized that there will be no more POGOs and IGLs. No more will be allowed, and we need to keep an eye on BPOs that could possibly be used as cover. What we are seeing now, as reported to them, is that the deadline is fast approaching, and there is a tendency for illegal POGO operators to break into small groups. We might see them in gated subdivisions, small communities, where they rent nearby apartments and stay there,” Fajardo said.
“The President has ordered monitoring of this, with the help of the LGUs, because he believes that these illegal POGO operations would not proliferate in small communities without the knowledge of the LGUs. He said that we should keep pressure on these POGO guerilla operations to stop them once and for all,” she added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
