Some government officials are allegedly involved in helping illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) evade the nationwide ban on offshore gaming, Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed on Thursday.
Speaking at the Kapihan sa Senado, Hontiveros said she received information that certain government officials have been advising POGO operators on how to circumvent the ban. According to the senator, these officials allegedly instruct the operators to disguise their businesses as business processing outsourcing (BPO) firms.
“We received reports that government officials are advising them [POGOs], ‘just change your structure to at least appear legal, like simple BPOs.’ But hidden within them are still POGO operations,” she said.
Earlier this month, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order 74, which imposed an immediate ban on offshore and internet gaming in the country.
The executive order was issued less than four months after Marcos announced during his third State of the Nation Address his decision to ban all offshore gaming operations in the Philippines.
Hontiveros did not name any of the government officials allegedly involved in the scheme but emphasized that this should serve as a warning to them.
“No specific names were given to us. It’s just that phenomenon — imagine, there are officials, even government officials allegedly who are advising POGO operators to bypass the system in such a way,” she said.
She added: “However, I immediately made it public as a warning. If that’s true, and they know who they are, they should stop it.”