Poe on exorbitant expenses needed for anti-Pogo ops: ‘We have seen enough’

MANILA, Philippines — The exorbitant expenses needed to combat illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) prompted Senator Grace Poe to once again call for the permanent ban of these firms in the country.

Poe, the new chairperson of the Senate panel on finance, said the “scale and breadth” of illegal Pogo operations in the country have become appalling and costly for Filipinos.

“For every operation against a Pogo, the government spends millions for the personnel needed, food and shelter of the rescued, deportation of undesirables, filing of court cases, and other related expenses,” explained Poe.

Citing an example, Poe said the recently-discovered Pogo hub in Porac, Pampanga — where more than 190 Filipino and foreigners were rescued – was too vast. The operation covered a huge and complex area.

Hence, there is a need for authorities to spend more than a week just to inspect the entire facility.

With this, she emphasized her call for a “resolute policy banning Pogos.”

“This will not only bring a permanent halt to their illegal activities, but will also plug the utilization of government resources, which could have otherwise been spent on useful social services for our people,” said Poe.

“We have seen enough: Pogos have done us more harm than good,” she concluded.

Prior to this call, Poe already lamented the government’s seeming inability to eradicate crimes related to Pogos.

She said the Philippines’ inability to stop Pogo-related crimes will be a “mockery of our laws” and will perpetuate the cycle of exploitation and abuse, not only of Filipinos but of their foreigner victims.”