Cebu City vows crackdown on POGO-like activities
Cebu City Acting Mayor Hon. Raymund Alvic Garcia
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Acting City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia vowed to work closely with law enforcement to crack down on all activities similar to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) here.
Although he initially stated that the Business Processing and Licensing Office (BPLO) of Cebu City reported no legal POGOs among the 40,000 registered businesses, Garcia acknowledged that the possibility of such operations could not be entirely ruled out.
Garcia said he could not discount the possibility, particularly after Alejandro H. Tengco, chairman and CEO of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), said that POGO-like activities might still be occurring in Cebu City.
“I will not discount that possibility; however, I can assure you that I am working closely with the PNP and NBI regarding this matter,” he said in a press conference on July 25.
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He further said that local officials were working diligently to resolve potential problems and noted that the city was fully operational.
Furthermore, the acting mayor also mentioned that he would conduct inspections of business process outsourcing (BPO) operators, as there had been reports of POGO-like activities occurring in some BPO companies.
“I will talk to the BPLO office to look into that. They may need to take a second look at all businesses registered under BPO to determine if they are truly BPOs. We will also conduct inspections,” he said.
In a June 2024 report by the Inquirer, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company in San Fernando City was raided by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
The company, Lucky South 99 Outsourcing Inc., initially applied as a BPO in 2019.
In 2021, when renewing its business permits from the local government, the company declared itself a POGO.
When it first applied for business permits in 2019, the company submitted Municipal Resolution No. 119, which merely certified that the local council had no objection to establishing, operating, and managing BPO services.
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Recently, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. banned all Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) during the third State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 22 effective immediately.
Marcos stated that these entities, disguising themselves as legitimate, have ventured into illicit areas far removed from gaming, including financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, and even murder.
He emphasized that this grave abuse and disrespect for the system of laws must stop.
He instructed the state regulator, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), to “wind down and cease the operations of Pogos by the end of the year.”
He then directed the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole), in coordination with his economic managers, to “use the time between now and then to find new jobs for our countrymen who will be displaced.”
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