(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has insisted there is no need to enact a new law to enforce the ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) nor are there loopholes in the executive order he issued to shut down their operations in the country.
The chief executive made the clarification after concerns arose regarding his directive to ban online gambling.
“It’s the nature of the operation we are banning. It’s not because it is under PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) or not,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the Seatrade Cruises 2024 Welcome Reception held in Pasay City last Monday night.
Marcos last November 5 issued EO No. 74 formalizing the ban on POGO, Internet Gaming, and other Offshore Gaming Operations several months after he announced it at this State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The circular likewise encompasses illegal offshore gaming operations, license applications, license renewals, and cessation of operations in the country.
He noted the negative effects gambling has such as a spike in crime rates, social instability, and exploitation of vulnerable people as the reason for the issuance of the order. These, he argued, far outweigh the economic and social benefits the gaming industry contributes.
Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, however, doubted it and pointed out supposed loopholes in EO 74’s coverage, claiming it “excludes online games of chance conducted in PAGCOR-operated casinos, licensed casinos, or integrated resorts with junket agreements.”
Marcos, however, refuted the Hontiveros.
“As long as you say that it is POGO, if that’s what it says on their license, it’s banned. The EO is sufficient,” he replied when asked if there is a need for a new law to be crafted.
The President last July asserted that he can no longer tolerate POGOs “disguising as legitimate entities” and that it’s high time they are stopped from further venturing “into elicit areas furthest from gaming” which include financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder.
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