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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Mabaho pa rin': Pagcor's attempt to 'deodorize' POGOs a failure, says Barbers 

'Mabaho pa rin': Pagcor's attempt to 'deodorize' POGOs a failure, says Barbers 

Published Jun 14, 2024 04:10 am

At A Glance

  • For Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation's (Pagcor) attempt to "deodorize" controversial Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) went nowhere. 

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For Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation's (Pagcor) attempt to "deodorize" controversial Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) went nowhere. 

Thus, said Barbers as the calls to outright ban POGOs in the country continue to reverberate in the House of Representatives. 

"The attempt by Pagcor to deodorize POGO by changing its name is futile and even highlights its negative impacts in our society," said Barbers, chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs. 

"No change of name can ever erase its legacy of crimes. POGO by any other name stinks just the same,” he underscored. 

It was back in October when Pagcor began to rename or rebrand POGOs as Internet Gaming Licensees, or IGLs. The name Offshore Gaming Licensees or OGL has also been used. 

The main reason for Barbers' and other solons' disenchantment with POGOs are the various criminal activities that the operators have been linked to. These have included syndicated crimes. 

With this, the solons claimed that the harm POGOs pose to Philippine society outweigh its economic benefits. POGOs proliferated during the previous Duterte administration.  

“These POGOs contributed heavily on the deterioration of our moral fiber. They are fronts to Chinese led criminal syndicates, money-laundering, espionage, cyber hacking, wire tapping, and other illegal activities that gave rise to murder, kidnapping for ransom, rape, prostitution, torture and countless other unspeakable barbaric activities," Barbers earlier said.

Related Tags

Robert Ace Barbers POGO PAGCOR
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