Senator Mark Villar, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusements, presided over the second public hearing on the President’s directive to ban the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations or POGOs.

It can be recalled that during his last State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Bongbong Marcos ordered the closure, prohibition, and winding down of operations of all POGOs in the country by the 31st of December 2024. Senator Mark Villar then filed a Senate resolution calling for an inquiry into the implementation of the President’s directive, prompting the initial hearing conducted a week after.

Since the initial public hearing, various developments have transpired in the government’s implementation of the POGO closure. Senator Mark probed into some developments, particularly the persisting presence of POGOs despite the lapsed deadline and the probable cause of their prolonged stay.

Villar raised the results of recent operations of the PAOCC, alluding to a new angle to the issue, “Last February 4, nagkaroon po ng joint entrapment operation ang PAOCC sa travel agency na nag-i-issue ng mga pekeng dokumento sa foreign nationals. Ilan sa kanilang mga napepeke ay marriage certificates, birth certificates, at passports ng mga foreign nationals na gamit ang Filipino name.”

It surfaced during the public hearing that some foreign POGO workers secured seemingly legitimate but fake documents with the help from travel and visa consultancy agencies. The Senator emphasized the possibility of an inside job within government agencies as these travel agencies appeared to have “connections” from the issuing government agencies.

“Kailangan po nating tingnan ang angulo na mayroong inside job. Possible na ito ang dahilan ng pagpapatuloy ng pagpasok ng mga foreign nationals sa Pilipinas gamit ang mga fake documents.”

“Along with PAOCC, naniniwala po tayo na ito ang ‘missing link’ sa ating imbestigasyon against POGOs. Ang illegal agencies na ito na nag-iissue ng mga fake documents ay siguradong mayroong koneksyon sa iba’t-ibang government agencies na nag-iissue ng mga dokumentong ito. Hindi po malayo na mayroon silang kasabwat upang makapag-issue ng mga pekeng dokumento sa mga foreign nationals. This new discovery makes us realize that we barely scratched the surface of this POGO issue.”

Villar emphasized the negative impact inflicted to Filipinos, despite some Filipinos leading this charge for POGOs as part of the management.

“Sa dami ng mga naglabasan na issue na ito, naniniwala po tayo na talagang the social cost of POGOs outweighs their supposed economic contribution. With all the reports of human trafficking, scamming, and abuse, we cannot just sit idly by as these POGOs continuously operate in our land. Hindi matutumbasan ng kanilang supposed economic contribution ang mga negatibong epekto nito sa ating mga kababayan. Kailangan nating siguraduhin na maipapasara na natin ang mga POGO sa lalong madaling panahon at maiimbestigahan na ang tumutulong sa kanilang illegal operations.”

Updates on the implementation will be further discussed with the agencies, alongside the deportation of these foreign POGO workers and the enforcement of similar sanctions to Filipino POGO workers who allegedly committed similar crimes, in succeeding public hearings.