Palace urged to heed calls to totally ban POGOs

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III on Monday urged Malacañang to heed calls for the total ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs), as the country "has become a playground for undesirable foreign nationals."

In a statement, Pimentel said he believes that the administration is moving in the direction of totally stopping the operations of POGO, citing Senator Imee Marcos' statement that her brother, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., is mulling a ban on the offshore gambling operations.

“Let’s prohibit it. POGO is detrimental to the Republic of the Philippines,” Pimentel said.

He added: “The continued operation of POGOs in the country is dangerous. It is akin to harboring would-be criminals and gangsters that can eventually cause massive disruption of peace and order in the country as we are beginning to see now with the spate of kidnapping incidence and other violent activities related to POGOs.”

The minority chief also called on Congress to make the ban on POGOs a legislative priority.

“Given what we’re seeing now as numerous ill effects of POGOs, the Congress has the moral duty to ban POGOs. We should act now. It will be a bipartisan measure,” Pimentel said.

“We can’t afford to dilly-dally on banning POGOs when the nation’s moral fiber and peace and order are on the line,” he  added.

"You are the majority. Get your act together. If you say ‘stop POGO’, we will support you."

Last week,  Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said he is in favor of discontinuing the program because of its social cost.

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa and Iloilo Representative Janette Garin also supported the call to ban POGO amid the controversies hounding the industry, including the series of abductions and other illegal activities.

GMA News Online asked Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles to comment on the matter. She said she will check for Palace's response on the lawmaker's call.

Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said the government must weigh the social costs of the offshore gaming operations and the "meager" income it gives.

"We’re awaiting the committee report of Sen. Bato (dela Rosa) before we make a final decision. But on a personal note, we must weigh the social costs of POGO [vis-a-vis] the meager income they give to the national coffers of only P3 [billion] a year. Plus they do not employ Filipinos so there is no added benefit to our local labor force," he said in a Viber message to reporters.

"So the question is: Is it worth it?? That will be tackled during the presentation of the Committee Report of Sen. Dela Rosa," he added.

Dela Rosa earlier said he is considering banning POGO to deter crimes amid the series of reported kidnappings in the country involving POGO personnel.

Dela Rosa made the statement a day after the Senate panel launched the investigation into the rising abduction cases in Metro Manila and Luzon.

On the other hand, Senator Grace Poe suggested launching a "full-on" probe on the social costs of POGOs to evaluate whether the country can still accommodate its operations.

Poe said she will file a resolution on this so the Senate and the public can explore together its stance on POGOs once and for all.

"It has become clear from the most recent Senate hearing on POGOs that the social costs of POGOs are starting to outweigh whatever economic gains that this particularly pernicious industry is bringing in the country," she said in a statement.

Poe mentioned the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group's remark that the Philippines became a cradle for Chinese gangsters after Vietnam and Cambodia banned Chinese-backed online gambling and overseas casinos and that the majority of kidnapping cases in 2022 are POGO-related.

"Kung dati ay hindi pagbabayad ng tamang buwis, mass migration, at real estate bubble ang pino-problema natin sa usapin ng POGO, ngayon ay may dagdag pang kidnapping, prostitution, torture at maging murder na kinasasangkutan ng mga POGOs," she said. —KBK, GMA News