The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said Monday there had been a sharp decline in the number of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) under its monitoring.
As of the latest count, there are only 100 POGO hubs being monitored.
“According to the report given to us by Pagcor, many have closed shop, and many are already wrapping up their operations,” PAOCC Executive Director Gilbert Cruz said in a radio interview.
Cruz said he was confident the government would be able to eradicate all illegal POGO remnants.
“Even if they turn to smaller groups, they would still converge, and the indicators are still there. The indicators are obvious, especially at night. They are open at night because of our time zone. Their victims are operating in an opposite time zone,” he added.
Cruz said that cases would soon be filed against local chief executives involved in illegal POGO activities.
He said the joint investigation of lawmakers, the National Bureau of Investigation and other government agencies were yielding good results.
“We have already connected the dots as to who are involved in POGOs. A lot of names have surfaced,” he added.
Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla earlier vowed to personally shut down all POGOs in the country by December as ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his third State of the Nation Address in July.
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