EO sufficient to enforce POGO ban – SolGen

MANILA, Philippines — An executive order is enough to enforce a ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), according to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra.

Guevarra explained that all gaming operations, under the law, fall under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), which reports directly to the Office of the President.

“An executive order or other administrative issuance is sufficient to implement the policy,” he said when asked if a law is needed to ban POGOs or if an EO would be enough.

He added a ban on POGOs is a matter of government policy and it is within the President’s prerogative to make such move for the good of the country, after carefully weighing all possibilities.

In his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Marcos ordered PAGCOR to have all POGO operations ceased by the end of the year.

He also directed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to find jobs for Filipinos who would be displaced by the closure of POGOs in the country.

The ban came after consecutive raids on POGO hubs revealed their involvement in illegal activities such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, torture, even murder.

According to PAGCOR, some 40,000 Filipino employees of POGO firms would be affected by the ban.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) earlier said foreigners employed in POGOs and internet gambling licensee companies would be given 60 days to leave the country.

Yesterday, the BI said it would not return the working visa payments of foreign POGO workers even if they were required to leave the country before the expiration of their visas.

“There is no refund. Application fee is part of the process whether approved, denied or revoked,” BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said. Foreigners have to pay P32,460 for working visa.

There were some 20,000 foreign POGO or internet gaming licensee workers in the country, 70 percent of whom were Chinese nationals, according to BI records.

The BI’s 60-day period for POGO and IGL foreign workers to leave the country starts today until Sept. 24.

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco earlier warned foreign POGO workers of deportation if they failed to leave before the Sept. 24 deadline.

He said he had instructed the bureau’s intelligence division and Fugitive Search Unit to intensify their operations against illegal online gaming hubs.

Meanwhile, Sen. Risa Hontiveros has urged the BI to give proper treatment to the 20,000 foreign POGO workers now being asked to leave the country.

“It looks like there are more workers from illegal POGOs, and this will pose more challenges to the agencies tasked to deport them,” Hontiveros said yesterday.

The senator said some of the foreign nationals were victims of human trafficking by the big bosses of illegal POGO hubs.

“Nonetheless, we must ensure humanitarian treatment toward foreign workers, especially those who may have been trafficked into these legal or illegal POGOs or IGLs,” Hontiveros said.

The senator also urged authorities to blacklist foreign POGO and IGL workers with criminal backgrounds or have standing arrest warrants in their home countries.

“Our Senate inquiry found that there are POGO or IGL workers who are fugitives from China and other countries. Law enforcement should flag these personalities and place them on a blacklist,” Hontiveros said. – Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Evelyn Macairan