MANILA — House Speaker Martin Romualdez wants bills seeking to ban Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations prioritized at the House of Representatives, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s announcement to ban all POGOs.

Romualdez instructed House leaders to craft a proposed legislative measure “that will put to a halt all POGO operations in the country effective December 2024 as ordered by the President”.

In a message read by House Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. during Tuesday’s hearing of joint House panels investigating the reported crimes being linked to POGOs, the House Speaker said the House Committee on Games and Amusements should harmonize the pending measures against POGOs.

“A law needs to be enacted to ensure that all anti-POGO measures are institutionalized, not only during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. but also beyond his term… Sisiguruhin natin na hindi makakakilos ang mga sindikatong criminal sa pamamagitan ng POGO at mapapanagot natin sa batas ang mga mastermind at leader ng mga sindikatong ito,” Romualdez said.

“I am requesting all the Committee chairs concerned to give this a priority… I want all bases in the total POGO ban covered in the proposed measure. We have to ensure that the POGO operators will not just resort to guerrilla operators or go under cover. The law must be crafted with iron-clad provisions to prevent a resurrection of these criminal and illegal activities,” he added.

HOUSE POGO INQUIRY CONTINUES

The joint inquiry of the House Committee on Games and Amusements and the House Committee on Public Order and Safety into the reported illegal activities of unlicensed POGOs continues as lawmakers stressed that perpetrators and protectors should be held accountable.

“Hindi kami titigil. We have to ferret out kung sino ang behind this,” House Committee on Public Order and Safety Chairperson Dan Fernandez said.

“Hopefully, the House can learn from the hearings— on their modus operandi and the brains behind these activities— as part of inputs for the proposed measure that we will be crafting,” Romualdez added.

During Tuesday’s hearing, some lawmakers sought clarification from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation on whether the ban on POGOs covers Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs).

PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco answered in the affirmative, explaining that POGOs were renamed IGLs after PAGCOR implemented new gaming regulations for offshore gaming.

“Prior to my assumption, ang tawag po dito sa mga may lisensya noon ay POGO. Dahil pinalitan namin ‘yung istruktura, ‘yung guidelines, pinalitan na rin namin ‘yung pangalan… From 298 naging 43 na lang. ‘Yung 43 na nasa jurisdiction ko, maliwanag ‘yun, kailangan kong i-wind down ‘yun… Susunod po ako sa utos ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at maliwanag ang utos na ‘yun kagabi,” he told lawmakers.

PAGCOR will coordinate with the Department of Labor and Employment and the administration’s economic managers to discuss the plans in implementing the President’s orders on POGOs.

More than 30,000 workers are expected to be affected by the ban on POGOs, but DOLE expressed readiness to help them find new employment or source of livelihood before Christmas.

“30,892 lahat-lahat. Kayang-kaya naman. Anyway, staggered naman ito up to the year end. Sa ngayon pa lang nagkakaroon na sila ng skills mapping. Unti-unti mabibigyan natin ito… Kailangan bago mag-Pasko may trabaho sila,” DOLE Undersecretary Felipe Egargo Jr. said.

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, meanwhile, thanked the President, and expressed hopes that with the ban, it will be easier for authorities to go after illegal POGOs.

“Hindi ito yung pwedeng itago mo sa bulsa mo. Kailangan mo ng computer, kailangan mo ng internet connection,” PAOCC’s Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said.

PAGCOR expressed optimism that it will be able to recover lost revenues from POGOs through land-based casinos, which it said are bouncing back after the COVID-19 pandemic.