Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Tuesday, Dec. 27, hailed the passing of the city's newest ordinance banning the operations of online gambling and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGO-related operations and services in the city, saying these are "ills of society."

In an interview with ANC, Sotto enumerated the reasons for the passing of Ordinance No. 49-2022 that halts the operations of online gambling and POGO establishments in the city by the end of 2023.

"The main difference (between) my second term and my first term is that I have the support of the city council this term and we agreed that it's about time that we end the operations of these establishments. But we will give them a year, ibig sabihin pwede pa sila mag-renew ng January 2023. Fair tayo. Alam nating mawawalan din sila and hindi naman yung bukas sarado na kayo. Hindi po ganon. We'll do it fairly kumbaga sa paraang makatao pa rin but by the end of 2023, they will have to stop their operations (But we will give them a year which means that they can still renew in January 2023. We did this because we want to be fair with them and we also understand that their employees will also lose their jobs. It isn't like we're going to close them all by tomorrow. We'll do it fairly and humanely as possible but by the end of 2023, they will have to stop their operations)," Sotto said.

He added that he wanted to put a stop on the operations of e-gambling since 2020 but failed to get the full support of the city council. There were also some individuals who reportedly tried to bribe their way into stopping the city government from passing the said ordinance for them to continue their operations.

"Yung pinaka culmination or yung pinaka peak nito is a few weeks or months ago, meron kaming isang kaso na yung nanay sinangla yung anak nya dahil baon sya sa utang dahil sa e-games and because of this, siguro naging wake-up call na din na hindi lang tayo basta may panukala pero itong panukala na ito ay kailangan ng sense of urgency (The culmination or peak of this issue was when a mother pawned her own child because she was buried in debt due to being hooked in e-games. I think this also became the wake-up call for us that this ordinance is not just any ordinance but instead, something that needs a sense of urgency)," Sotto said.

"For the longest time and I want to be clear na I'm only speaking for the city of Pasig, hindi ko alam sa ibang lugar, but here in Pasig it has really been a symbol of corruption kasi tuwing magrerenew sila, may lumalapit na konsehal na sasabihin sa akin "Mayor, may nagaalok ng ganito ganito" na kako di ba hindi tayo tumatanggap ng ganyan? Pero pag nakatalikod na ako, hindi ko alam kung ano na yung nangyayare. But the figure is in the millions of pesos per year and I want it to stop (For the longest time and I want to be clear that I'm only speaking for the city of Pasig, I don't know if this is also happening in other cities, but here in Pasig, it has really been a symbol of corruption because once they renew their operations, some councilors approached me and said that some operators were trying to bribe them for the renewal of their businesses. I always tell them that we do not accept bribes. However, once I turned my back, I don't know anymore what would happen. But the figure is in the millions of pesos per year and I want it to stop)," he added.

The mayor noted that the passing of the ordinance aims to not just put an end to the social ills brought about by e-gambling but also end this symbol of corruption in Pasig City.

Asked why the ordinance only covers e-gambling and not other forms of physical gambling, Sotto explained that e-gambling is the most widespread form of gambling in the city.

"Yung mga e-games and e-bingo, yan talaga yung madami sa lungsod ng Pasig and ito yung marami tayong kwento na naririnig na andaming buhay na nasisira so dun tayo magfofocus. We will focus where we see the ills. We will focus where we see kung saan may di magandang nangyayare and di magandang naidudulot (E-games and e-bingo are the most widespread form of e-gambling in the city of Pasig and these are the ones where we hear and see that a lot of lives are being destroyed by it that's why we want to focus here. We will focus where we see the ills. We will focus where we see the problem and its adverse effects to the community)," the mayor stressed.

On Dec. 15, the City Council passed the ordinance authored and sponsored by Councilor Simon Romulo Tantoco, who is also the chairman of the Committee on Games and Amusement.

The anti-gambling ordinance disallows “the operations, applications, and approval of licenses to operate online games of chance, including, but not limited to, online casinos, E-games, online sabong, E-Bingo outlets, online poker, and computer gaming stations.”

It also disallows the “operations of service providers providing technical support” to the aforementioned online games of chance. These include “POGOs and any related business thereof within the territorial jurisdiction of Pasig City.”

The copy of the draft ordinance obtained by Manila Bulletin states that the Business Permit and Licensing Department shall “facilitate and monitor the retirement of all listed establishments, to be completed by Jan. 1, 2024.”

“It will be unlawful for owners, operators, and support providers of such establishments to continue operations from the effectivity of the ordinance, and to continue to operate after Dec. 31, 2023," the ordinance stated.

Violators of the ordinance will be fined P5,000 or serve an imprisonment period of one year, depending on the discretion of the court.