Marcos bans POGOs

MANILA, Philippines — Shaken by their “grave abuse and disrespect” of Philippine laws, President Marcos yesterday ordered an immediate ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

“The grave abuse and disrespect to our system of laws must stop. Kailangan nang itigil ang panggugulo nito sa ating lipunan at paglalapastangan sa ating bansa (The disorder they create in our society and their desecration of our country should be stopped). Effective today, all POGOs are banned,” Marcos declared in his third State of the Nation Address.

The audience at the SONA, which lasted an hour and 22 minutes, erupted into cheers, with chants of “BBM! BBM!”

Marcos acknowledged the strong public clamor against POGOs, and he said banning them would solve many of the problems faced by the country.

“I hereby instruct PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.) to wind down and cease the operations of POGOs by the end of the year,” he added.

Marcos said the labor department, in coordination with the economic managers, would use the time until the end of the year to find new jobs for Filipino workers who would be displaced after the POGO ban.

“This will solve many of the problems that we are encountering… but it will not solve all of them,” he stressed.

“To solve all the problems that we have been suffering under, all officials, law enforcers, workers in government and most of all the citizenry, must always be vigilant, principled and think of the health of the nation,” he said.

According to Marcos, POGOs were disguised as legitimate entities while operating in “illicit areas furthest from gaming” such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder.

He went on to quote English philosopher John Stuart Mill, who had emphasized the importance of directly acting against evil deeds.

“Let me end by recalling the words of a great man: let not anyone pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing,” Marcos said.

“He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name,” he added.

POGOs made headlines after 875 people, most of them foreigners, were rescued in a raid on a gaming hub believed to be engaged in human trafficking and other illegal activities in Bamban, Tarlac last March.

The POGO hub has been linked to suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, a suspected Chinese national whose identity has been questioned because of her supposed inconsistent statements and discrepancies in her records.

Widely welcomed

Lawmakers and other officials widely welcomed President Marcos’ banning of POGO.

“Finally, after two years, POGOs are banned!” Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said in an ambush interview at Batasang Pambansa after the SONA.

Gatchalian said he approached Marcos, a former senator, after his speech and shook his hands.

“He shook my hands tightly and told me ‘O banned na ha! I am listening.’ It goes to show that the President is listening to public sentiment,” Gatchalian said.

He said not only did the President make banning POGO a policy pronouncement, he also illustrated the serious crimes attributed to illegal offshore gaming activities in his national address.

“He even elaborated on the crimes – human trafficking, money laundering, torture. This was his grand finale, and he received standing ovations for it,” Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian said he believed the President watched the Senate’s several hearings that investigated the involvement of POGOs in criminality.

“Senator Risa Hontiveros and I talked about how our hearings were not done in vain, because the President is listening,” he said.

“It took the President time to announce the ban because he studied it thoroughly, with the Filipino workers to be displaced in mind,” Gatchalian said.

For her part, Hontiveros said the ban on POGO is “a victory for the women and children” who are victims of human trafficking.

“This is a big deal. I thought he was no longer going to mention POGOs, until he reached the end of his speech,” Hontiveros said in an interview.

“At least the President did not let go of the opportunity to use his SONA to announce the POGO ban. His position is clear: effective today, POGOs are banned,” she added.

Other senators also welcomed the President’s announcement.

“Concise, forward-looking and thoughtfully articulated. We can say that the highlight of the President’s SONA is the banning of POGOs, and reiterating our strong stance to our rights in the West Philippine Sea,” Sen. Nancy Binay said.

“POGOs became a safe haven for criminality. Now the President had the political will to ban POGOs starting December. Legal or not, stop operations by the end of the year. We’re so very hopeful and happy about that,” Sen. Grace Poe said.

“POGOs days are numbered! We thank the President for heeding the people’s voices, for carefully analyzing sound data and for concluding that POGO has no rightful place in our society,” Sen. Joel Villanueva said.

Talk of the town

“Yes, I predict that SONA will be the talk of the town because of the POGO ban,” Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said in a text message. “The President demonstrated that he is sensitive to the sentiments of his constituents. Power issues must be solved once and for all. We need to study the proposed solutions very well,” he said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said the POGO ban was a welcome development. “The senators and the congressmen were very happy with the unexpected decision to ban POGO,” he said.

“Congrats to the Republic of the Philippines (which) will reduce the cases of kidnapping and trafficking of women and children, at least when that is banned we will see (end to) this kind of nefarious activities,” former Senate president Juan Miguel Zubiri said.

“We will report them immediately. They can’t say that because they have a permit they can operate if it’s banned, it’s really banned.”

“I was happy the President made a national policy statement which we never expected. I know that PBBM is a listening President and heard the strong clamor of the people to totally ban POGOs in the country,” Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Surigao del Norte) said.

Barbers heads the House committee on dangerous drugs that investigates some unlawful activities connected to POGOs.

“We cheer the President’s decision to ban POGOs and order PAGCOR to wind down the operations of POGOs by yearend,” Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores (Bukidnon second district) said.

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez also lauded Marcos’ order. “We in the House of Representatives have been calling for the closure of POGOs, whether legal or illegal, because of the evil they have caused not only in the areas where they operate but in other communities. We thank the President for finally heeding our call,” he noted.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House ways and means committee who endorsed the closure only of illegal POGOs, said Marcos’ directive was “a clear executive discretion.”

“The key here is that POGO is just a small part of a bigger pie called IGL (internet gaming license). I hope they find a way of banning POGOs without affecting IGLs,” he told reporters.

Employers Confederation of the Philippines president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said the group supports the ban on POGOs.

“I do agree about the POGO. I think that’s a very popular decision, that it must be taken away. What we are saying, those with license should be phased out and I think end of the year is a good phaseout for that,” he said in an interview with ANC.

Foundation for Economic Freedom president Calixto Chikiamco, in a Viber message yesterday, said the group also supports the phaseout of all POGOs.

“We joined with other business organizations calling for a ban on POGOs. This will help reduce criminality and corruption and even improve our relations with China, which has called for dismantling of POGOs,” he said.

“We are grateful and relieved with the pronouncement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of stopping the operation of POGO,” said Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission executive director Gilbert Cruz on Viber. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Cecille Suerte-Felipe, Emmanuel Tupas, Louella Desiderio, Delon Porcalla, Sheila Crisostomo