2024, the year of reckoning for Pogos, IGLs

Graphics by: Samuel Yap / INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—One of the biggest news of the year was President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s decision and order to ban all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos) and Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs), by December 31, 2024.

Marcos announced this toward the end of his third State of the Nation Address (Sona) last July which dree applause and a standing ovation at the House of Reprsentatives’ plenary hall.

With just over a week before the ban’s deadline, what has the government done since Marcos announced it?

Assistance to displaced workers

In his Sona, Marcos stressed that “the grave abuse and disrespect to our system of laws must stop,” among Pogos and IGLs.

“Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations have ventured into illicit areas furthest from gaming such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder,” he added.

This, however, meant thousands of Filipinos will lose their jobs and be forced to look for other sources of income.

With that, Marcos tasked the Department of Labor and Employment  with coordinating with his economic managers to ensure that displaced Filipino Pogo workers would find other jobs.

As of November 19, the DOLE has already finished profiling over 30,000 Filipino workers displaced by the ban.
This will help them plan the type of assistance they can provide to workers.

Among the assistance that displaced workers may get are skills training and livelihood assistance of up to P30,000 per beneficiary.

Government law enforcement agencies conduct a raid at a. Business Processing Outsourcing complex in Barangay Padang, Bagac, Bataan province, for allegedly operating as a Philippine offshore gaming operator, on Thursday, October 31, 2024. INQUIRER PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Deportation of foreign Pogo workers

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (Paocc) reported that, as of December 13, the Philippine government had deported over 2,300 foreigners who worked at Pogos or IGLs Majority was from China, while others came from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

In a public briefing on December 23, the Bureau of Immigration announced that up to 7,000 more foreign Pogo/IGL workers were set to leave the country before the December 31 deadline.

BI urged the foreign nationals to voluntarily return to their home country or else face deportation and blacklisting.

The bureau had previously set an October 15 deadline for foreign Pogo/IGL workers to convert their 9G work visas to tourist visas, allowing them to legally remain in the Philippines for up to 59 days.

Executive Order (EO) on the Pogo ban

Four months after the president announced the ban, an EO was issued to help officials and agencies streamline its implementation.

Under EO No. 74, released on November 8, all applications and renewals of licenses, permits, and authorizations for Pogos/IGLs were no longer allowed.

READ: Palace issues EO on nationwide Pogo ban

The EO also directed the creation of a Technical Working Group (TWG) for Employment Recovery and Reintegration, which will convene to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for enforcing the ban. Additionally, a TWG on Anti-Illegal Offshore Gaming Operations was formed to intensify the crackdown.

Marcos also dismissed the supposed loopholes in the EO, which did not explicitly declare that the ban on Pogos/IGLs covered all establishments that were not under the supervision of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).

According to Marcos, “It’s the nature of the operation we are banning; it’s not because it is under Pagcor or not.”

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission Director Gilbert Cruz, Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil, and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Chairman Alejandro Tengco plaster a closed sign on one of the Philippine offshore gaming operator’s buildings at the Island Cove compound in Kawit town, Cavite province on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (Photo by Jason Sigales / INQUIRER.net)

Revocation of Licenses

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced on December 11 that all existing Pogo/IGL licenses were automatically canceled as of December 15.

He emphasized that local authorities would pursue “guerilla operations” to go after non-compliant Pogo/IGL operators in 2025.

Remulla said that there are still about 100 “rogue Pogos” secretly operating in residential houses, hotels, and even resorts that local authorities are still pursuing. These rogue Pogos are composed of former Pogo employees whose companies have already shut down.

On December 17, Remulla also led the closure of the largest Pogo/IGL hub in Kawit, Cavite. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) head certified the shutdown of the facility in Island Cove, a parcel of land previously owned by the Remulla family before its sale in 2017.

Repurposing Raided Pogo/IGL Properties

The cessation of Pogo/IGL operations does not mean that the establishments where they conducted business will also be demolished.

READ: Marcos orders ‘smaller scale, multiple’ Pogo crackdowns ahead of deadline

In fact, Paocc said the government plans to convert the raided hubs into facilities such as schools and government offices.

The agency explained that the raided Pogo/IGL hubs are currently subject to civil and criminal forfeiture and will eventually be turned over to the government.

The Paocc noted that it would be beneficial for communities if the government took ownership of the raided Pogo hubs, particularly those located in Porac, Pampanga and Bamban, Tarlac.

This matter is still up for discussion by the DILG and the Inter-Agency Task Force.