Zhang Qiaowei warns: Scams have "localized", the remnants of POGO still exist, PNP must take action to eradicate.

Philippine Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has once again issued a stern condemnation of the social harms brought by POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators). He pointed out that although POGO appears to be gradually being eradicated, its technical and manpower chains have deeply rooted in the local black market, leading to an increasingly severe trend of "Philippinization" of scam crimes.

This statement comes at a time when the Philippine National Police (PNP) recently revealed police data that has drawn attention—currently, most of the suspects in online scam cases are locals, many of whom are veterans from the POGO system.

"In the past, it was foreigners scamming foreigners, now it's Filipinos scamming Filipinos," Gatchalian criticized, "We are paying for the troubles planted a few years ago when POGO was allowed to enter the country."

POGO "training" scam talents? PNP admits it's true

The PNP's cybercrime division acknowledged in a public forum that many of the scam suspects arrested in recent years had received "customer service training" within POGO enterprises, familiar with scripts, social manipulation, and technical methods. Now, these individuals have left the complexes and organized local scam groups on their own, continuing the old routines and transforming into "Philippine-style tele-fraud."

Although the police have not yet released detailed statistics, this trend has already attracted widespread public attention and has rapidly intensified calls for a "complete eradication of the remaining forces of POGO."

Anti-POGO bill passes third reading, the POGO era may officially end

The "Anti-POGO Bill" led by Gatchalian has passed the third reading in the Senate and is now awaiting deliberation in the House of Representatives. If passed, the bill will completely abolish Republic Act No. 11590, which grants legal status to POGO, and will prohibit all forms of offshore gaming, including online gambling.

Gatchalian emphasized that banning POGO is not about attacking employment, but about cutting off the breeding ground for corruption and rebuilding social order.

Senator challenges the police: Must eradicate the root forces

"I demand the new leadership of the PNP to treat the eradication of black market gangs derived from POGO as a core law enforcement task," he stated, indicating that these seemingly localized gangs continuing to reap the benefits of the gambling cancer cannot be tolerated any longer.

Gatchalian finally added that eradicating POGO is not just a policy decision, but a test of the country's governance capacity. Only by fundamentally cutting off this underground gray production chain can the Philippines truly stay away from the long-term harm of gambling crimes.