BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The City Council passed a resolution banning Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), now known as Internet Gaming Licensees (IGL), and their local gaming agents in the city.
The resolution also supports two measures approved by the House of Representatives recently seeking to ban unregulated online gaming.
“POGO, or IGL, operation in Iloilo City will inevitably destroy the reputation and dignity of Iloilo City and its people,” read the resolution.
The council’s measure was an offshoot of the executive order recently issued by Mayor Jerry Treñas who announced stricter measures against POGOs.
House Bill No. 5082 and House Resolution No. 1197 propose to prohibit POGOs in the Philippines.
HB 5082 would prohibit “any person or entity to conduct online games of chance or sporting events via the internet using a network and software or program, exclusively to offshore authorized players within Philippine territory.”
On the other hand, HR No. 1197 author and Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez cited the series of crimes that were reportedly linked to activities and operations of POGOs.
These criminal activities include human trafficking, forcible abduction, homicide, illegal detention, kidnapping for ransom, theft, robbery, extortion, serious physical injuries, swindling, grave coercion, investment scam, cryptocurrency scam, and love scam.
“POGO sites may have a severe national security implication and whatever benefit we got from them is nothing compared to what they have put us in. The social costs keep mounting and no amount of taxes or perceived jobs can outweigh them,” the council said.
Mayor Treñas’ executive order also provides guidelines on enhanced and stricter monitoring and collaboration with the City Hall departments and the police to address issues related to POGO operations.
Executive Order No. 094 declares the city’s policy on illegal POGOs and urges the police, the City Treasurer’s Office, the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office, and the City Local Economic Enterprise Office (LEEO) to “utilize their powers under the law to investigate any suspected POGO establishments within the city.”
“This investigation shall include establishment illegally of POGOs without the required regulatory requirements, and establishments operating illegally as POGOs but registered as operating under a different line of business,” read Treñas’ executive order.
He issued the executive order following the ongoing investigation by the Iloilo City Council into the proliferation of undocumented immigrants, particularly the reported unregulated activities of Chinese-led POGOs in the city.
The council, convening as a Committee of the Whole, started investigating “in aid of legislation” on the reported illegal activities of foreign nationals in the city.
These supposed illicit activities include unregulated gambling, human trafficking, and other similar illegal activities linked to Chinese-operated POGOs.
In his executive order, Mayor Treñas emphasized the enhanced measures aligned with the city’s mandate to promote the general welfare of its people, improve public morals, maintain peace and order, and preserve peace and order of its populace.
It added that the POGO industry has been associated with corruption and other crimes such as money laundering, and other illicit activities that are detrimental to the welfare of the communities and associated with possible infringement of national security./PN
