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Although Philippine President Marcos has already ordered a complete halt to POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators), it has proven that this ban has not been fully effective. The Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) recently admitted that active underground POGOs still exist within the country, albeit their scale and operational modes have changed.
PAOCC Executive Director Gilbert Cruz stated in an interview that the past centralized operations in large buildings and parks have indeed been severely hit, but now more "decentralized" small-scale illegal spots are emerging. He revealed: "They no longer gather openly, but are dispersed and hidden, even secretly operating in 'separate rooms'."
These hidden underground POGOs are not limited to gambling itself, but are also intertwined with "romance scams," "cryptocurrency scams," and "fake investments," becoming an important link in the cross-border fraud chain. Cruz warned that these gray industries are still "blood-sucking" and pose a serious threat to social security.
He added that Interior Minister Jonvic Remulla has asked local governments (LGU) to closely monitor suspicious locations within their jurisdictions, and to immediately report any signs of POGO to the national authorities for swift law enforcement action.
Externally, there are concerns that although POGO has been banned, its trend towards underground and fragmented operations has become more apparent, which may increase the difficulty of tracking and gathering evidence. Marcos's "complete halt order," if to be truly implemented, may still require stronger law enforcement and regulation to plug the gaps in the gray market.
