EFFECTIVE today, all POGOs are banned.
Thus, said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as he announced the prohibition on all Philippine offshore gaming operators in the country in his 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.
Marcos stressed that POGO operations had ventured into illicit areas such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitutions, human trafficking, kidnapping, torture, and murder.
“The grave abuse and disrespect to our system and laws must stop. Kailangan na itigil ang pang gulo nito sa ating lipunan at pag lalapastangan sa ating bansa,” Marcos said in his 2024 State of the Nation Address.
Last week, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto recommended the total ban of operations of POGOs due to the issues surrounding the industry.
This comes amid public clamor following consecutive raids against the establishments, leading to the discovery of torture, love scams, and criminal activities.
“I hereby instruct PAGCOR to wind down and cease all operations of POGOs by the end of the year,” Marcos said.
He also instructed the Department of Labor and Employment to find new jobs for Filipinos who would lose employment.
The Association of Service Providers and POGOs (ASAP) also warned that some 23,000 Filipinos would lose their jobs if the operators are banned from the country
“This will solve many of the problems that we have been encountering but it will not solve all of them. 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.
