Senators on Thursday, July 18, echoed the support of business groups to the recommendation of government agencies to permanently ban Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs).
In a joint statement on Wednesday, July 17, eight organizations, including local business groups, expressed their full support for the Department of Finance and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) recommendation to completely ban POGOs.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel said that if President Marcos "truly listens" to the Filipino people, he should have already banned POGOs immediately.
"No more distinction between legal and illegal POGOs. Make all POGOs (now called IGLs) illegal," he said in a message to reporters.
The real "Bagong Pilipinas", according to him, is a Philippines that prohibits POGO operations even calling it "Bawal POGO."
"Patunayan na merong Bagong Pilipinas hindi lang daanin sa pagkanta-kanta (The real Bagong Pilipinas is a Philippines (Prove that there's a real 'Bagong Pilipinas', not just using it in hymns)," he added.
Former Senate President Senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri said that POGOs should be given one year to two years to transition before being totally banned.
"The revenue earned is not enough to justify their continued stay which results to criminality and immorality. Illegal trafficking of women, Illegal employment of workers pretending to be tourists, prostitution, kidnapping, gun running and murders remains unabated by mainland Chinese POGO operators. It’s time to clamp down and phase it out completely," he added.
Senator Joel Villanueva said that government agencies such as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) are prepared to aid 22,000 Filipinos who stand to lose jobs from the total POGO ban.
"Ang pagpapaalis po sa mga POGO ang magiging pinakamagandang regalo ng ating Pangulo sa taumbayan lalo na kung iaanunsyo n’ya ito sa kanyang ikatlong State of the Nation Address ngayong Lunes (Removing POGOs will be the President's greatest gift to the people especially if he would announce it in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) this Monday)," he said.
Aside from POGOs, Villanueva said that all forms of online gambling should be removed.
"Nagsimula na po noong Martes ang pagdinig sa ating inihaing Senate Bill No. 1281 o Anti-Online Gambling Act kaya panawagan rin po natin sa ating mga kasamahan sa Senado na gawin itong prayoridad sa pagbubukas ng sesyon sa susunod na linggo (Last Tuesday, the hearing on Senate Bill No. 1281 o Anti-Online Gambling Act which we filed has already began and we call on our colleagues in the Senate to make this a priority once the session resumes next week)," he added.
He also thanked the business community, the administration's economic managers, and the police for joining their advocacy to remove POGOs in the country.