Stubborn scourge

They’re still here?

That’s the incredulous question that immediately pops to mind upon hearing the news that 244 foreigners, most of them Chinese, were arrested last Friday for suspected involvement in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo)-related activities in Zamboanga Sibugay. Authorities described the operation conducted in Barangay Kimos in Siay and Barangay Tandiong Muslim in Alicia as the “largest Pogo bust” of the year so far.

The scale of the illegal business could be gleaned from the report of the Bureau of Immigration: “At the Siay operation, BI teams apprehended 113 foreign nationals, consisting of 110 Chinese nationals, two Cambodians, and one Hong Kong national. At the Alicia operation, another 131 foreign nationals were apprehended, mostly Chinese, along with nationals from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Myanmar.”

The raid also recovered 78 computer monitors, around 3,000 mobile phones, laptops, and cellular SIM cards, and other technical devices suspected of being used for online scams.

A total ban

It’s been two years and three months since President Marcos announced in his State of the Nation Address in July 2024 a total ban on Pogos in the country, citing “the grave abuse and disrespect to our system and laws” that the industry had spawned. “Effective today, all Pogos are banned,” he had declared then, adding, “I hereby instruct Pagcor to wind down and cease all operations of Pogos by the end of the year,” referring to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., the country’s gaming industry regulator.

Marcos then issued Executive Order No. 74 on Nov. 5, 2024 formalizing the immediate ban on offshore and internet gaming in the country. That order was further strengthened by Republic Act No. 12312, also known as the Anti-Pogo Act of 2025, which came nearly a year later—signed into law by the President on Oct. 23 and published on Oct. 29, 2025, making permanent the ban imposed by EO 74.

RA 12312 repealed RA 11590, the law that taxed Pogos and their service providers and authorized their operations in the country, which was signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2021. The new law effectively canceled all work permits and visas of individuals engaged in offshore gaming operations or employed by Pogos, Pogo gaming content providers, and Pogo-accredited service providers.

Surge in criminality

The two senators who pushed for the termination of Pogo activities in the country were clear about why such a blanket prohibition was needed. “From minors forced into prostitution to serve Chinese Pogo workers, to the mysterious story of Mayor Alice Guo’s scam hubs, Pogos have harmed our country in more ways than we can imagine,” said Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chair of the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, on the other hand, said, “Pogos have brought nothing but a surge in criminality that includes kidnapping, human trafficking, and prostitution, among others. This [the law] isn’t just an economic issue but a moral imperative.”

While the majority of accredited Pogo companies operating in the country did board up for good following the issuance of these measures, a number appear to have just gone underground or converted themselves into online scam hubs, such as the busted company in Zamboanga Sibugay. Not only were the foreign nationals arrested in the operation suspected of being undocumented and illegally working in the country, but the company itself could face charges related to human trafficking and other offenses.

And if authorities are characterizing the latest crackdown as the “largest Pogo bust” to date, the implication is that many more are out there, splintered into smaller undertakings while continuing to inflict harm and danger on the communities where they are located.

National security

The risks to national security are also heightened by the presence of an indeterminate number of undocumented foreign nationals recruited for these activities, particularly the Chinese contingent that, as in Zamboanga Sibugay, has made up the largest number of immigration entrants into the country ever since the Duterte administration greenlighted and promoted the Pogo boom.

The breadth and impunity of the illicit operations uncovered in Zamboanga Sibugay indicate that the criminal syndicates behind Pogos and online scams continue to see the Philippines as malleable territory where laws can be easily circumvented. Such clandestine activities may also be receiving protection and support from corrupt officials in government, for how else are these complexes that employ hundreds of people and generate considerable economic and social presence in their localities able to operate for so long before their cover is blown?

The laws are already there, but enforcement is what ultimately counts. The government cannot relent in its crackdown on the stubborn Pogo scourge—or allow the industry to simply reemerge under another name.

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