PAOCC to see if remaining POGOs have closed
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) will inspect remaining Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) if they have closed next week, an official said Sunday.
In an interview with dzBB, Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz, executive director of PAOCC, this is said operations of POGOs have been terminated in line with the revocation of their licenses on Sunday.
"Next week, we will be conducting inspections of POGOS that claim to have closed down. We might be deceived, they could say that they have shut down but actually haven't. By Tuesday, we will visit a large POGO hub," Cruz said.
“ Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) said only 20 of them are remaining. So they should be closed by the end of the year and we will monitor that. By January, we will have a total operation, because there will totally be no POGOs, IGL (internet gaming licensees), and even those that say they are licensed BPOs (business process outsourcing),” he said.
The PAOCC previously said they expecting a surge of smaller POGOs following its total ban in 2025.
Despite that, the agency is confident that if guerilla POGOs emerge, they could suppress this since the local government units (LGUs) have been directed to help with implementing the total POGO ban next year.
“There are many red flags, many indicators, that there is a POGO operator in an area. In a barangay, it can clearly be seen. (One indicator is) the presence of foreigners. They should wonder why there are so many foreigners in that place,” Cruz said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
