Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office Central Visayas (PRO-7) | CDN Photo/ Emmariel Ares
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) will continue their monitoring and operations to terminate all Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hubs that may resume operations in the region.
This was the assurance relayed by PRO-7 spokesperson Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare during a media forum on Tuesday, July 23.
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During his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared that all Pogos in the country are banned effective on Monday, July 22.
With this, law enforcers in Central Visayas have expressed that their intelligence monitoring and coordination with other agencies will not stop to ensure that no Pogos will operate in the region.
“We assure the public that PRO-7, under the leadership of Police Brigadier General Anthony Aberin, will make sure that there will be no Pogo in Central Visayas,” stated Pelare.
Pelare said that in previous years, there were at least five licensed Pogo hubs recorded in Cebu.
These entities, which are now inactive, were found in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu City and Mandaue.
In 2019, a Pogo hub in Lapu-Lapu that was used as front for some illegal activities was raided and shut down by policemen.
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While they are no active Pogo hubs left in the region as of today, Pelare has said that their monitoring will not cease.
“But our monitoring will not stop there. We will make sure that all Pogos, if ever they are existing in Central Visayas, will cease operating in consideration of the instruction of our president,” he stated.
Following the president’s proclamation, authorities do not discount the possibility that Pogo operators will resort to other ways to continue operations despite the ban.
Pelare said that they would be focusing on monitoring these operators that might come up with strategies for their illegal activities.
According to Pelare, their personnel will be actively assisting the PAGCOR as the lead agency in ensuring that Pogos are uncovered and terminated.
Police will be utilizing both human intelligence and technological advancements to gather more information about possible Pogo operations.
Pelare further encouraged members of the community with knowledge of any possible Pogo hubs to report it immediately to the authorities.
“We would like to encourage everyone who has knowledge of any operation like Pogo, please report it to us so that we can take action immediately. Again, the enforcement of the law is always a joint undertaking between the government and the community,” he said.