House quad lawmakers file bill banning POGOs

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers belonging to the House of Representatives’ quad committee have filed a bill seeking to institutionalize a nationwide ban on all forms of offshore gaming operations in the country.

The panel members filed House Bill No. 10987 to reinforce an earlier directive by President Marcos imposing a total ban on Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs) to protect public safety and national security from the criminal activities linked to these operations.

The proposed measure, to be titled the Anti-Offshore Gaming Operations Act, seeks to prohibit all forms of offshore gaming in the country and impose penalties for violations.

The bill was filed just before the resumption of the quad committee probe into the links between POGOs, illegal drug trade, land grabbing by certain Chinese nationals, and alleged extrajudicial killings tied to the Duterte administration’s brutal war on drugs.

It was authored by Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker David Suarez, and quad comm chairs Robert Ace Barbers, Dan Fernandez, Bienvenido Abante Jr. and Joseph Stephen Paduano.

Others are Representatives Romeo Acop, Johnny Pimentel, Gerville Luistro, Rodge Gutierrez, Paolo Ortega V, Jay Khonghun and Jonathan Keith Flores.

The bill’s explanatory note cited the various crimes related to POGO hubs, “being self-contained areas (that) are used to conceal crimes.”

“Several raids conducted by law enforcement agencies on illegal POGO hubs reveal cases of kidnapping, illegal detention, human trafficking, prostitution, and torture,” the bill reads.

The measure also cited that illegal POGOs are likewise suspected involved in cybercrime, investment scam, money laundering, tax evasion and other fraudulent practices.

The bill highlights the limited economic benefits of POGOs, with investments contributing just 0.2 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product in 2023.