During his 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., declared a nationwide ban on all Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) news article. Marcos pointed out the negative effects POGOs had on the country such as money laundering, scamming, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, and murder to name some.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the PNA news article. Some parts in boldface…
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has heeded snowballing calls to ban Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) in the country, an industry marred by controversies and illegal activities.
During his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, Marcos acknowledged that POGOs have already “ventured into illicit areas furthest from gaming, such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder.”
“The grave abuse and disrespect of our system must stop. Kailangan nang itigil ang panggugulo nito sa ating lipunan at paglalapastangan sa ating bansa (It is now imperative to stop this chaos that is wreaking havoc to our society and desecrating our country). Effective today, all POGOs are banned,” Marcos exclaimed prompting the crowd at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City to break into cheers.
The President also ordered the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation to cease operations of POGOs by the end of the year, as well as the Department of Labor and Employment to help workers who will be displaced.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, key figures of the administration’s economic team, have supported the calls to ban POGOs, which mostly cater to clients from mainland China and employ a large number of Chinese-speaking foreign workers.
Several lawmakers and business groups have also urged the President to impose a total ban on POGOs.
Aside from money laundering activities, crimes attributed to the POGOs have expanded over the past years and now include human trafficking, abduction, homicide, illegal detention, kidnap-for-ransom, theft, robbery-extortion, serious physical injuries, swindling, grave coercion, investment scam, cryptocurrency scam, and love scam.
For added insight, watch this GMA Network news video of President Marcos making the declaration.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the newly declared nationwide ban on POGOs will reduce the connected criminal acts? Are there many POGO-connected foreigners living in your local community? Do you think the ban on POGOs will result in lesser Chinese nationals coming into the country? Do you think the closures of POGOs will affect a lot of small businesses that sold products or services to them?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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