Senators urge Marcos to ban POGOs over ‘security threats’

MANILA, Philippines — Senators yesterday renewed their call for President Marcos to ban Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) firms, citing their threat to national security and ties to organized crime.

Senators made this call after holding an executive session on Wednesday about the illegal activities involving POGOs, such as money laundering, human trafficking and financial scams.

The closed-door session was attended by representatives from intelligence and law enforcement agencies who all agreed that POGOs should be banned for their criminal activities, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said during the Kapihan sa Senado forum yesterday.

Without disclosing details of the discussion, Gatchalian said it was established that offshore gaming hubs are being used as cover by local and foreign criminal syndicates to launder dirty money from abroad and to traffic victims into working for them and perpetuate digital scams.

“I am shaken because our intelligence agencies were able to confirm our worst fear – that corruption due to POGOs has become entrenched, and that its influence has expanded into politics, law enforcement, and immigration,” Gatchalian said in Filipino.

“It is a scary scenario that the money from foreign criminal syndicates is being laundered here to fund local criminal syndicates. These evil elements are starting to join forces,” he added.

He cited the case of Zun Yuan Technology in Bamban, Tarlac, a raided POGO facility being linked to suspended town mayor Alice Guo. Her name appeared in the local permit application and electricity bills paid for the POGO.

While Guo denied the allegations, documents would link her to illegal activities, Gatchalian said.

The compound where the POGO facility was built is under Baofo Land Development, which Guo used to own with two incorporators Zhang Ruijin and Lin Baoying, who are also involved in Singapore’s biggest money laundering case worth $3 billion.

Gatchalian and Sen. Risa Hontiveros have urged the National Security Council (NSC) to elevate to the President their call to ban POGOs as a threat to national security.

“Our suggestion to the NSC is to relay to the President, who is its chairman, our concern that POGOs