Philippine senator files bill to ban offshore gaming companies

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian says POGO operations have “brought more harm than good”.

The Philippines.- Senator Win Gatchalian has introduced Senate Bill 2689, seeking to prohibit the operations of offshore gaming companies. This bill aims to repeal Republic Act 11590, the law that allows such operations. The law was enacted on September 22, 2021 by former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, said: “The main goal is ultimately to outlaw and prohibit offshore gaming operations in the country.” He said that despite the revenue and jobs generated by the industry, a rise in criminal activities has raised significant concerns.

He referenced several incidents such as the police raid at the Colorful and Leap Group, a POGO hub in Clark Freeport Zone, which led to the rescue of around a thousand foreigners and over a hundred Filipinos. A raid last June at Xinchuang Network Technology in Las Pinas uncovered 2,700 suspected human trafficking victims. Most recently, in March, a raid on Zun Yuan Technology in Bamban, Tarlac, followed a complaint from a Vietnamese national alleging human trafficking and illegal detention.

See also: Philippine senator calls on President Marcos to ban POGOs

Gatchalian said a cost-benefit analysis conducted by the Department of Finance (DOF) in 2022 showed that while POGO operations generated PHP133.7bn to PHP144.5bn annually, enforcement and immigration costs resulted in a net annual loss of PHP3.3bn to PHP14bn, equivalent to 0.01 per cent to 0.06 per cent of the GDP.

He said: “This means that POGO operations have brought more harm than good, as the economic costs greatly outweigh the benefits derived from such operations. Beyond the financial impact, the rise in human trafficking and online scams linked to POGOs is a moral failing we must address.”