Senate OKs anti-POGO bill on second reading
The Senate approved on second reading a bill banning Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in the country.
Senate Bill 2868 or the Anti-POGO Bill, declared offshore gaming operations in the Philippines as unlawful.
'I look forward na ma adopt na ito ng Senado yung batas po at yung committee report, I really felt na ito ay one-two power punch against POGO,' said Senator Risa Hontiveros, chair of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality.
Among the amendments in the measure are the Bureau of Immigration's mandate to deport foreign nationals directly back to their country.
Meanwhile, maximum penalties were imposed on government officials found engaging in POGO-related activities.
In 2024, authorities discovered some POGO hubs engaging in human trafficking and physical and sexual abuse. This includes POGO hubs in Bambam, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga.
This led to the arrest of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, also identified as Guo Hua Ping, Guo, for alleged involvement in the illegal activities of a POGO hub in her town. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/LDF, GMA Integrated News
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