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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Hontiveros 'overjoyed' as PBBM signs new law outlawing POGOs

Hontiveros 'overjoyed' as PBBM signs new law outlawing POGOs

Published Oct 29, 2025 02:29 pm

At A Glance

  • Senator Risa Hontiveros welcomed on Wednesday, October 29, President Marcos' signing into law of the measure banning and declaring illegal all offshore gaming operations in the Philippines (POGOs) and other related activities brought about by the said industry.

Senator Risa Hontiveros welcomed on Wednesday, October 29, President Marcos’ signing into law of the measure banning and declaring illegal all offshore gaming operations in the Philippines (POGOs) and other related activities brought about by the said industry.
Hontiveros made the statement after Marcos signed Republic Act No. 12312, also known as the “Anti-POGO Act of 2025.”
Signed by the President last October 23, the new law also cancels all work permits and visas of individuals engaged in offshore gaming operations or those employed by POGOs, POGO gaming content providers and POGO-accredited service providers.
“I am overjoyed about the Anti-POGO Act’s passage into law. Finally, the mistake of the previous administration in introducing the POGO industry into the country can be rectified,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, I have long called for the abolition of POGOs in the country, having seen and exposed how this industry abused and exploited not just people, but also institutions,” she stressed.
Hontiveros, likewise, offered her sincere gratitude to government agencies, the foreign women who were trafficked here in the Philippines and had the guts to report, and the whistleblowers who have been the Senate panel’s partners in thoroughly investigating POGOs.
She also expressed her deep gratitude to fellow “POGO-buster”—Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian—who now heads the Senate finance panel, for spearheading the advancement of the measure.
“From minors being forced into prostitution to service Chinese POGO workers, to the mysterious stories of (former) Mayor Alice Guo's scam hubs, clearly, POGOs have harmed our country in more ways than we can imagine,” the lawmaker stressed.
RA No. 12312 also prohibits any person or entity from “recruiting, obtaining, hiring, providing, offering, transporting, transferring, maintaining, harboring, or receiving any Filipino or foreign national” for employment in POGOs.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), under the law, has been tasked to formulate and implement programs to assist in the transition of all Filipino workers affected by the ban.
“With this law, the government has a clear duty: to ensure that no POGO will ever turn the Philippines into their criminal playground again,” she further said.

Related Tags

Risa Hontiveros POGO Anti-POGO Act of 2025
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