HOPES run high among Filipinos that President Marcos Jr.’s directive to law enforcement and anti-corruption entities to carry out operations against banned Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) still existing will be implemented.
These POGOs have existed since September 2016, in the same period then president Rodrigo Duterte was condemning online gaming in his speeches, when the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation created the country’soffshore gaming operators.
There are still 47 POGOs operating in the Philippines, according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, but the Presidential ban covers these as well.
The President was clear when he issued the directive during the 2nd Joint National Peace and Order Council-Regional Peace and Order Councils meeting for 2024 in Camp Crame in Quezon City.
The President wants the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission, Philippine National Police, and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to intensify their operations against POGOs that are still operating despite the ban.
As of Nov. 29 this year, there were 53,700 canceled offshore gaming employment licenses; 18 Internet Gaming Licensees or IGLs – the previously named POGOs – voluntarily canceling their licenses; and 27 IGLs in the process of winding down their operations.
Suspicious illegal activities, especially those concerning POGOs, should be monitored by the Local Government Units, according to the President, and the Department of Interior and Local Government should step up gathering substantial intelligence from local communities.
We know the ban would result in 40,000 people losing their jobs – 27,000 of them Filipinos – who are working directly with the POGOs, but the Department of Labor should by now have in its bulletin board possible jobs for those who would be displaced.
There were security issues linked to POGOs, including related criminal activities, including but not limited to illegally operating overnight, a rise in undocumented workers from China, and a weak response from government agencies.
POGO operations have also impacted communities by increasing fear and anxiety associated with illegal activities, not to mention the discernment that groups engaged in illegal or criminal activities wield significant economic influence in certain areas which erodes institutional integrity.
Earlier on, President Marcos issued Executive Order 74 imposing an immediate ban on offshore and internet gaming, stressing the State has the predominant duty to safeguard national security, maintain public order, uphold the rule of law, protect the safety of the Filipino people, and ensure the integrity of the country’s social fabric.
We join Filipinos in their hope that, this time, the far-reaching power of the authorities as it were would put those trying to defy the ban in a trap.