<\/p>\n
THE <\/span>GOVERNMENT<\/span> is adopting<\/span> inter-agency procedures <\/span>aimed at strengthening implement<\/span>ment against offshore gaming <\/span>op<\/span>erations and stopping their reemergence, Malaca\u00f1ang said.<\/span><\/p>\n The usual operating procedures (SOP), signed at a ceremony in Malaca\u00f1ang on Wednesday, consolidate enforcement under Executive Order No. 74, issued in 2024, and Republic Act No. 12312, also generally known as the POGO Ban Act, and integrate multiple laws and agency rules right into a single framework.<\/p>\n The SOPs establish a coordinated process covering intelligence gathering, enforcement operations, evidence handling, prosecution, and asset preservation in cases involving illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) and related activities, Malaca\u00f1ang said in a press release.<\/span><\/p>\n Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto said the procedures are supposed to strengthen coordination and enforcement, describing them as \u201cone other vital step\u201d in the federal government\u2019s campaign against illegal offshore<\/span> gaming operations.<\/p>\n \u201cThese SOPs weren’t drawn from thin air. They were borne of hard-earned lessons from the sphere,\u201d he said in a speech through the signing ceremony, adding that they establish \u201cend-to-end procedures\u201d and equip the federal government with stronger legal tools.<\/p>\n He said authorities are looking for to deal with the adaptability of illegal operations, noting that such groups are \u201cable to reappearing under latest names, latest fronts, and latest methods every time they’re struck.\u201d<\/p>\n The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission will serve because the lead coordinating body under the framework, while the Department of Justice will deploy prosecutors early in case buildup to strengthen evidence and improve conviction rates.<\/p>\n Other agencies involved include the Anti-Money Laundering Council and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can handle financial tracking and company intelligence.<\/p>\n The SOPs also cover the management and maintenance of assets seized from illegal operations.<\/span><\/p>\n Mr. Recto said the approach goes beyond closing down operations, shifting toward \u201cpreserving assets, seizing illicit resources, securing convictions, protecting victims, and cutting these criminal enterprises off from the financial and company networks that sustain them.\u201d<\/p>\n Offshore gaming firms expanded within the Philippines starting in 2016, catering largely to foreign clients and contributing to government revenues <\/span>and demand for of<\/span>f<\/span>ice space and services.<\/span><\/p>\n Authorities, nevertheless, have linked segments of the industry to crimes resembling human traf<\/span>f<\/span>icking, money laundering, and cyber-related offenses, prompting tighter <\/span>regulation and enforcement actions lately.<\/span><\/p>\n President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. announced a ban on POGOs in his 2024 State of the Nation Address, <\/span>citing the social costs related to the industry.<\/span><\/p>\n Mr. Recto said the policy was driven by concerns that revenues couldn’t outweigh its impact, saying it was \u201ca call rooted not in convenience, but in conscience; not in expediency, but in duty.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The shutdown of offshore gaming operations displaced hundreds of staff. Estimates ranged from 23,000 to 42,000 Filipino employees, based on the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., while the Department of Labor and Employment identified about 30,567 affected staff as of November 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPublic distrust of POGOs and concerns over illicit activities justified dismantling the sector,\u201d Hansley A. Juliano, a political science lecturer on the Ateneo de Manila University, said via Messenger, adding that doubts persevered over whether revenues from the industry benefited the broader public.<\/span><\/p>\n He said any fiscal gains appeared limited, with \u201cmore tangible improvements seen in reduced housing pressure and concrete congestion,\u201d while broader indicators resembling tax compliance and investor confidence remain tied to larger economic forces.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTax compliance, investor confidence and externalities, while nominally related, cater to greater macroeconomic trends and investment areas beyond those <\/span>previously occupied by POGOs,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n Mr. Juliano said sustaining the policy direction would rely on institutional safeguards and consistent enforcement, noting the necessity for \u201cstronger irreversible checks\u201d to stop policy reversals. \u2014 Chloe Mari A. Hufana<\/b><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga on June 24, 2024. \u2014 PHILIPPINE STAR\/JESSE BUSTOS THE GOVERNMENT is adopting inter-agency procedures aimed at strengthening implementment against offshore gaming operations and stopping their reemergence, Malaca\u00f1ang said. The usual operating procedures (SOP), signed at a ceremony in Malaca\u00f1ang on Wednesday, consolidate enforcement under Executive Order No. 74, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":323337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[4339,4588,916,2364,50939,2274],"class_list":["post-323336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-adopts","tag-ban","tag-lock","tag-philippines","tag-pogo","tag-rules"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323336"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":323339,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323336\/revisions\/323339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}