The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said it is monitoring 58 Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) that are allegedly still operating despite having cancelled licenses from the government.

PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio said this as the government continues its drive against illegal activities in the sector.

In a Saturday news forum, Casio said the PAOCC monitored some of the reported continued operations of canceled POGOs in Pampanga, Cavite, Laguna, Palawan, and Cebu on social media.

However, because the PAOCC only has 49 operatives, Casio called on the local government units (LGUs) to police their ranks as well.

Despite the challenge, Casio said they are doing their best to ensure PAOCC operations are running. He said the commission tries to be "proactive" by talking to Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs) and LGUs.

"First, we talk to the IGL. Ang sabi namin (We tell them) do not allow yourselves to be conduit of illegal activities. Next, kakausapin po namin lahat nung LGU (we will talk to the LGUs)," he said.

According to the PAOCC, there are 43 legal POGOs in the country.

Philippine law enforcement agencies have been conducting raids on several POGO hubs that led to the arrest of some suspects, including Chinese nationals.
 

On Friday, June 14, China expressed support for the Philippines' crackdown on POGOs and called on the country to ban them immediately.

"We appeal to the Philippines to ban POGO at an early date so as to root out this social ill," the Chinese Embassy in Manila said.
 

"Ample evidence shows that POGO breeds serious crimes such as kidnapping for ransom, human trafficking, and murder," it added.
 

Since 2018, nearly 3,000 Chinese citizens implicated in POGO- and fraud-related cases have been repatriated to China. In the past year alone, China has assisted the Philippines in shutting down five POGO hubs and has repatriated nearly 1,000 Chinese citizens.