THE total ban on Philippine Online Gaming Operators (POGO) ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday has effectively placed in disarray all POGO-linked politicians and other government officials or the so-called Makabagong Makapili who are banking on the online gaming firms’ financial support in the May 2025 elections, a lawmaker from Mindanao said.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said with the POGO ban, it is imperative for all concerned government agencies to immediately conduct a crackdown on all illegal and previously legal POGOs and stop their operations.
“We lawmakers laud President BBM’s decision to immediately ban POGO operations in the country. The various social harm brought by POGO to us far outweighs the little economic contributions they made to our economy,” he said. “All those POGO workers who violated our laws should not be left unpunished,” he added.
The marching orders of the President on POGO, Barbers said, should be carried out immediately and properly by all concerned government agencies such as the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Justice, Bureau of Immigration, Anti-Money Laundering Council, Department of Labor and Employment, among others.
He said the President’s directive would surely hurt financially local politicians and other government officials called “Bagong Makapili or Chinese enablers” who earned various perks and privileges in the past for turning a blind eye despite the social menace brought in by POGOs.
The lawmaker from Surigao del Norte said the privilege speech he delivered in November 2019 against POGO operations appear to be “prophetic” as he warned then that the Chinese-operated online gaming firms could become an avenue for illegal drugs trafficking and money laundering schemes.
“Aside from illegal drugs and money laundering activities, what the Filipino society saw from these POGO operations were various criminal activities, and they include wire fraud, investment scams, kidnapping, murder, prostitution, human trafficking, among others,” Barbers said.
“We should not just let go of these POGOs. We should also investigate deep, prosecute and jail all their workers who committed various crimes. They all deserve appropriate punishment under our laws,” he added.
Aside from those crimes, he said other unscrupulous Chinese nationals have managed to play around with Philippine laws, bribing their way in and out of mess, obtain fraudulently acquired Filipino identification, and pose as legit Filipinos transacting local businesses such as real estate firms.
“Pinag-aralan na nila and kahinaan natin at nang ating mga batas at na solusyonan nila ito sa pamamagitan ng pera. Hindi naman lahat, pero maraming pagkakataon na may ebidensya na ang ilan sa ating mga kababayan ay kayang-kaya nila suhulan ng pera,” Barbers said.
He cited the case of one Chinese trader identified as a certain Willie Ong who is believed behind the shipment of 560 kilos of shabu worth P3.6 billion in September last year.
“Ong managed illegally obtain a Filipino passport, an LTO driver’s license and other government-issued identification cards. He and his Chinese cohorts used it to establish Prime 999 realty firm and bought in cash a total a 320 “titled prime lots” in Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and other parts of the country,” he said.
According to Barbers, he and the members of his committee would continue with their on-going probe against Willie Ong and all his alleged known cohorts in their illegal drug operations in the past.
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