PAOCC to go after ‘small-scale’ POGOs in 2025
MANILA, Philippines — The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) on Tuesday, December 31, said that it plans to target "small-scale operations" of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) in 2025.
PAOCC director Gilbert Cruz said in a Teleradyo interview that while the majority of POGO operations have ceased, a few continue to operate despite the ban.
"Mayroon pa rin kaming nakikita na talagang matigas ang ulo. 'Yung iba naman, kagaya ng mga reports sa amin at mga mino-monitor namin, talagang gumagawa na sila ng mga small-scale POGO operations," Cruz said.
(We still see some who are truly stubborn. Others, based on the reports we’ve received and our monitoring, have shifted to operating small-scale POGOs.)
Cruz urged local government units to remain vigilant against small-scale operations, which he said would also be targeted by the authorities.
"'Yung iba talagang gumagawa sila ng small scale ops, but hindi na po pwede 'yan. Total ban na po tayo. Definitely, huhulihin namin 'yan, whether sabihin nila na may permit sila from PAGCOR o kaya sabihin nila na sila ay BPO at hindi po sila ano, hindi po mangyayari 'yun.," said Cruz.
(Some are really engaging in small-scale operations, but that’s no longer allowed. We are under a total ban. Definitely, we will apprehend them, whether they claim to have a permit from PAGCOR or say they are a BPO [Business Process Outsourcing]. That’s not going to happen.)
The licenses of the remaining POGOs were formally canceled on December 15.
Despite the cancellation of the licenses, Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado said that an estimated 8,000 foreign nationals whose visas were downgraded to tourist visas from working visas have not yet exited the country.
Around 33,000 foreign workers of POGOs registered with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., among these, 23,000 to 24,000 had voluntarily departed following the announcement of the POGO ban, according to Viado.
In November, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued an executive order, extending the ban on POGOs and internet gaming licenses to include illegal offshore gaming activities, new applications, renewals and the cessation of operations.
Marcos initially declared the ban on POGOs during his third State of the Nation Address last July due to alleged unlawful activities that were subjects of congressional inquiries.
In response, government agencies like the PAOCC, the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration began implementing measures to downgrade the visas of foreign POGO workers which started on October 15.
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