The local government of Pasig City has shut down all gambling establishments in the city, Mayor Vico Sotto said Monday.
“As promised, one year later, all establishments with both POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) and e-games/e-bingo have been closed in Pasig City,” Sotto said.
“To be fair to these businesses, we gave them one year, 2023, to wind up their operations pursuant to Ordinance 55 s. 2022,” the mayor added.
Sotto said a POGO outlet, which was registered as business process outsourcing, was raided by the National Bureau of Investigation in 2022.
He said the permits for the e-games and e-bingos in the city expired last 31 December 2023.
“We gave them a chance, more than one month, to peacefully close on their own. However, in blatant disregard of the law and local government regulations, 18 of them continued operating without any permits until this February,” he added.
Last Friday, Sotto said he ordered the city’s business permit and licensing department to shut down all these establishments.
“We passed the ordinance to ban these establishments because they do nothing good for the society. Many have been addicted, and there have been suicides and cases of human trafficking related to it. This is on top of the bribery that happened in the city council before,” he said.