Philippine House of Representatives restarts "quadrilateral investigation": POGO, drugs, and extrajudicial killings become key battlefronts.

The Philippine House of Representatives recently officially passed Resolution No. 106, announcing the restart of the "Quad-Committee" investigation, focusing on highly sensitive issues such as offshore gaming (POGO), illegal drugs, extrajudicial killings, and government procurement corruption, aimin

Philippines' "Gambling Ban" Dilemma: POGO's Ten-Year Standoff, a Gray Tug-of-War Between Power and Money Flow

After President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), discussions about a comprehensive ban on POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) resurfaced. Several senators made consecutive statements, harshly criticizing POGO for fostering telec

After the POGO exodus, Manila's real estate market shows mixed signals: office buildings rebound, residential sector cools down.

The Philippine real estate market has recently shown a distinct "polarized pattern": the office market has welcomed a supply peak, while the residential market has fallen into a sales slump. Particularly after the withdrawal of the POGO "wild" group, residential demand in Manila plummeted, leading t

"Silent Harvest": The True Script of the Philippine POGO Clearance Battle

Is the Philippine POGO (Offshore Gaming) industry about to "resurrect"? Recently, President Marcos Jr. has been slow to sign the "Anti-POGO Law," sparking industry speculation and illusions of a "resurrection." However, those truly familiar with the political ecology of the Philippines understand th

The Philippine Bureau of Immigration, in collaboration with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT): Anti-POGO, combating cyber fraud, conducting a nationwide internet crackdown.

Joel Anthony Viado, the Director of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in the Philippines, recently announced that the BI will deepen reforms to fully respond to President Marcos Jr.'s vision of a "New Philippines" (Bagong Pilipinas), focusing on governance transformation, service enhancement, and digit

Prohibited but Not Eliminated: A Year into the Philippine Crackdown on POGOs, Nearly Ten Thousand Chinese Remain Stranded in Fraud Schemes

It has been a year since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a comprehensive ban on offshore gambling (POGO), and although the Philippines has ostensibly cleared the main operating parks, the shadow of POGO still lingers. The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) notes that about 9

POGO Transforms into Online Lending (OLA)? Philippines Arrests 172 People in Illegal Online Lending Syndicate, Behind it All is an Old Fraud Group

The Philippine government recently disclosed that a group of criminals, formerly active in the POGO scam parks, are transitioning to operating illegal online lending (OLA) businesses, with at least 55 illegal loan applications linked to them. As the government intensifies its crackdown on the gambli

Social Cancer or Economic Engine? Philippine Online Gambling Ban Sparks Fierce Congressional Battle!

Philippine POGO faces another setback! Cebu's Deputy Mayor pushes for the revision of 7 supporting ordinances, conducting a comprehensive review of Chinese-funded gambling operators.

Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) face another setback in Cebu. On July 9, Cebu City Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña announced that the city council will start revising several previously passed local regulations that support the POGO business, in response to national measures to regulate the indu

The list of POGO suspects is believed to have entered China, with former practitioners being named by the police overseas continuously.

Recently, there have been rumors that the list of employees working in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) has been handed over to Chinese law enforcement authorities. Several Chinese nationals who previously worked in the Philippines and have now moved to Cambodia stated that they have

Philippine Senator Zhang Qiaowei publicly calls for stronger regulation of online gambling!

Philippine Senator Zhang Qiaowei urgently calls for: Strictly blocking illegal online gambling to prevent the resurgence of the 'POGO model'.

On July 1, Philippine Senator Zhang Qiaowei publicly called on the government to take stronger measures to prevent the resurgence of illegal online gambling platforms, especially to be vigilant about the risk of the "POGO model" re-emerging in the local cyberspace. He pointed out that despite multip

Former POGO employee joins scam industry, Philippines cracks down on 5,099 cybercrimes in six months

The Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) announced that in the first half of 2025, a total of 5,099 suspects involved in cybercrime were arrested nationwide, covering cases such as online fraud, identity theft, electronic wallet skimming, and AI investment scams, reflecting the

Philippine POGO Endgame: A Chronicle of the Rise and Fall of Cross-Border Gambling

Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) began in the Cagayan Special Economic Zone in 2003, initially as a policy experiment modeled after European practices. Cagayan, relying on the "RA 7922 Act," gained licensing autonomy and attracted a large number of Chinese-funded platforms. The basic logi

Zhang Qiaowei calls for the eradication of local POGO scam gangs: 'Filipinos scamming Filipinos' has become a reality.

Philippine Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on June 26 issued a strong call for the Philippine National Police (PNP) to comprehensively crackdown on scam groups that were formerly breeding grounds for POGO (offshore gaming) and have now transitioned to localized operations. He pointed out that although th

China-Philippines high-level talks focus on POGO rectification, China and the Philippines may share a grey list.

As the Philippines continues to intensify its crackdown on POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators), issues related to the Chinese "grey industry" are sparking high-level discussions. In mid-June, the Deputy Minister of the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), Cruz, led a delegati