{"id":777020891,"date":"2024-11-21T08:49:43","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T11:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777020891"},"modified":"2026-04-22T03:59:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T06:59:44","slug":"dilg-secretary-urges-philippine-mayors-to-check-for-illegal-offshore-gaming-operators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/dilg-secretary-urges-philippine-mayors-to-check-for-illegal-offshore-gaming-operators","title":{"rendered":"DILG secretary urges Philippine mayors to check for illegal offshore gaming operators"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jonvic Remulla urged mayors to regularly check businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Philippines.- Jesus Crispin Remulla<\/strong>, secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), has called on mayors to regularly check business establishments to ensure that they are not operating as illegal offshore gaming operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a Commission on Appointments hearing, Remulla said some illegal offshore gaming operators had applied for permits under the guise of running legitimate businesses such as resorts or restaurants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the authority to issue, suspend, or revoke business and occupancy permits was a key tool in combating such illicit activities. Based on the Local Government Code of 1991, a mayor has the power to suspend or revoke licences and permits for any violation of the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remulla noted an incident in Lapu-Lapu City, where an alleged restaurant was exposed as a front for offshore gaming operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: “The biggest disguise that they [offshore gaming operators] are going through now is that they are applying for resorts and restaurants. So it is in the power of the mayor to visit the establishments and make sure that what is going on is exactly what is intended.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is really up to the mayors when they issue business permits, occupancy permits, they have to inspect the premises and to make sure that what is intended for is happening,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also: <\/strong>PAOCC warns of former gaming workers running scam farms<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philippines senator urges DOLE to be proactive in revoking permits for foreign offshore gaming workers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Senator\u00a0Sherwin Gatchalian<\/strong>\u00a0has called on\u00a0the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)\u00a0<\/strong>to take proactive measures to cancel\u00a0alien employment permits (AEPs)<\/strong>\u00a0issued to offshore gaming workers. During discussions on the DOLE\u2019s proposed budget for 2025, Gatchalian said: \u201cOffshore gaming operators are morphing into something else so they could stay in the country and continue their scamming activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need a very proactive approach to cancel and eventually send these workers to their country of origin and we need the entire government machinery to work together to cut the legal basis for these individuals to stay in the Philippines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On November 5, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order (EO) 74<\/strong>, ordering an immediate ban<\/a> on offshore gaming. The order requires offshore gaming operators and related auxiliary and ancillary services with issued licences to wind up by December 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DOLE reported that it issued\u00a0around 15,819 AEPs in 2024<\/strong>. However, since the president\u2019s announcement of the ban, approximately 36,000 AEPs have been revoked. The DOLE said it is collaborating with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to make sure working visas associated with offshore gaming-related activities are terminated, preventing foreign nationals from remaining in the country illegally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jonvic Remulla urged mayors to regularly check businesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":14456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Philippine government is escalating its enforcement against illicit offshore gaming operations, with DILG Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla mandating local government units to rigorously inspect businesses suspected of fronting illegal activities. This intensified regulatory scrutiny, coupled with Senator Sherwin Gatchalian's call for proactive revocation of Alien Employment Permits, underscores the comprehensive implementation of President Marcos Jr.'s Executive Order 74, which imposes a complete ban on offshore gaming and requires all licensed entities to cease operations by December 3.","focusai_entities":"Jesus Crispin Remulla, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Commission on Appointments, Sherwin Gatchalian, Department of Labor and Employment, Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Bureau of Immigration","focusai_location":"Philippines, Lapu-Lapu City","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.9), payments_fraud_aml (0.7), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Post-Ban Economic Impact","query":"What are the projected economic ramifications for the Philippines, including potential shifts in foreign direct investment and the long-term impact on the real estate sector, following the complete cessation of offshore gaming operations?"},{"label":"Regulatory Enforcement Challenges","query":"Given the reported disguises of illegal POGOs, what enhanced governance frameworks and inter-agency coordination strategies will be deployed to ensure consistent and effective enforcement by local government units against sophisticated illicit operations?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[154,16333],"tags":[4138],"class_list":["post-777020891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legislation-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-online-gambling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777020891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777020891"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777020891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777020900,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777020891\/revisions\/777020900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777020891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777020891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777020891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}