POGO BAN IN THE PHILIPPINES INCLUDES IGL


Effective July 22, POGOs are banned in the Philippines according to President Marcos Jr. (Photo courtesy of Philippine Star)
When President Bongbong Marcos announced that all Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) are banned in the Philippines on his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), the public and also some government officials applauded and were happy about it.
Citing the need to end the "grave abuse and disrespect to our system of laws,” according to the President, the gaming companies have made into illicit areas furthest from gaming such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder.
The President ordered Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco to cease the operation of POGOs by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the Presidential Communications Office then clarified that Internet gaming licenses are included in the ban.
His orders are very clear: ‘I am instructing Pagcor to wind down the operations of all Pogos. I cannot wind down the operations of illegal Pogos because those are not within my jurisdiction. But the 43 in my jurisdiction, that’s clear, I will wind them down," Tengco said.
Marcos' decision has been commended as "a huge victory for the entire country" by Senator Risa Hontiveros, the chair of the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality, which handled the POGOs investigation.
"Our Senate hearings will continue to demand accountability. We will also continue to ensure that we strengthen policies that would prevent industries like POGOs from ever emerging again,” Hontiveros said.
She acknowledged all of the government agencies, victim-survivors, and whistleblowers who contributed to the Senate probe aimed at "exposing the mystery surrounding POGOs."
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto statement on the ban, "In truth, we incur more losses from POGOs than what we earn from them, since they do pay taxes, but our we spend a lot, for example, the PNP, because of the crimes. So when you sum it all up in my recommendation to the President to ban POGOs, we also showed the cost-benefit analysis of it. In my opinion, the President’s decision is correct."
Furthermore, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will offer jobs to affected workers by the POGO ban, “We will find an appropriate job for these potentially affected workers.”
Source: ABS-CBN News
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