Despite ban, probe into POGOs at Senate to continue

MANILA, Philippines — Senate hearings on the Philippine offshore gaming operators, or POGOs, will still be held despite President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's declaration banning them in the country, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Tuesday.

Hontiveros, a longtime critic of POGOs and a member of the opposition, said the public inquiries will aim to seek accountability and stronger policy regulations.

"We will continue to make sure to strengthen policies to stop industries like those POGOs from ever emerging again,” Hontiveros said in an interview on GMA's Unang Balita.

Hontiveros chairs the Senate panel on family relations and led a joint hearing with the migrant workers and public order panels to investigate human trafficking, cyber fraud and other criminal activities arising from the foreign gaming industry.

In this State of the Nation Address on Monday, Marcos ordered the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to cease offshore gaming firms and wind down their operations by the end of the year.

In a separate statement, Hontiveros lauded the move as a "huge success for the country."

"I can't compare the joy and comfort from the banning of POGO in the country," Hontiveros said. "POGOs have brought innumerable and unspeakable social ills... I commend the President for his resolute pronouncement."

The investigation into Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, who was suspended for graft charges over her alleged connections with the POGO industry. Guo's citizenship and qualifications for office have also been found questionable in the proceedings.

“Despite her attorney’s advice to show up at the next hearing, we still haven’t seen even her shadow or any of her family members,” Hontiveros said in the phone patch interview.

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She also thanked the survivors and whistleblowers like the Department of Justice, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the National Bureau of Investigation.

“All of them helped us in this investigation to uncover the mystery that surrounds POGO. We owe you this victory,” Hontiveros added.

The next public hearing on POGOs will be on July 29.