President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. provided the lightning and thunder to a rain-drenched Monday afternoon when he capped his third State of the Nation Address (SoNA) with a resounding order banning from the country all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

“Effective today, all POGOs are banned. I hereby instruct PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) to wind down and cease the operations of POGOs by the end of the year,” Marcos said to the wild applause of legislators, other government officials and members of the diplomatic corps gathered at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.

As the celebration eased a little to allow him to continue his speech that had been running past an hour at the time, Marcos gave the Department of Labor and Employment and other concerned government agencies, the marching order to find jobs for those Filipinos who would be displaced in the POGO industry being dominated by foreigners, especially Chinese nationals.

The President left no doubt as to why he deemed enough is enough for a sector whose contribution to the economy had been questioned vis-a-vis the social ills it had generated like financial scams, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, torture and murder.

“The grave abuse and disrespect to our system and laws must stop. This disruption to our society and desecration of our nation must end,” Marcos said in giving the closure order to POGOs as hoped for by many senators interviewed before his SoNA.

Marcos acknowledged that while this ban would address many issues, it would not be the solution for all the problems associated with POGOs. He, thus, called on all government officials, law enforcers, and citizens to remain vigilant and principled.

“This will solve many of the problems that we are encountering. It will solve many of the problems that we have been encountering, but it will not solve all of them,” Marcos said.

Mr. Marcos also highlighted during his SoNA the government’s efforts to boost agriculture, prepare for natural disasters, build highways and bridges, and improve the education system. He also emphasized that the Philippines is not ceding any part of its territory.

“We hear the loud complaints of our countrymen,” Marcos said to a standing ovation. “We must stop this troublemaking in our society and the abuse of our country.” POGOs flourished under former president Rodrigo Duterte. “We hear the loud complaints of our countrymen,” Marcos said to a standing ovation. “We must stop this troublemaking in our society and the abuse of our country.”

A Senate investigation revealed POGOs’ association with criminal activities involving its mainly Chinese workers, such as foreign nationals purchasing fake birth certificates and other documents. A wildly cited case is that of suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, who had been suspected of being a POGO protector and a Chinese spy.

Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, and Aquilino Pimentel III have all called on Marcos to ban POGOs. Both the Department of Finance (DoF) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) have supported the ban. The DoF has stated that the proliferation of POGOs is costing the Philippines approximately P99.5 billion annually.

Reacting to the President’s directive, Pagcor chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said they would exert full efforts to implement the total ban on POGOs by year’s end.

“The President has spoken. He has given instructions to Pagcor and basically to me to maybe already have a process because the President wants no more operations by the end of the year,” Tengco told reporters in an ambush interview.

“So, by 2025, we will do everything we can to ensure that no internet gaming licensee operates anymore,” he added.

Feasible?

Tengco said it would not be fair to declare whether the timeline given by the President to cease POGO operations in the country is feasible. “It wouldn’t be fair for me to answer you now because the order was just given earlier and we still need to study it but we will do everything we can,” he said.

“We’re talking about the legal ones here because, with the illegal ones, there’s really nothing we can do,” he added.