{"id":777021396,"date":"2024-12-10T09:03:37","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T12:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777021396"},"modified":"2026-04-22T03:24:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T06:24:47","slug":"philippine-senator-repeats-call-for-local-governments-to-check-for-illegal-offshore-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/philippine-senator-repeats-call-for-local-governments-to-check-for-illegal-offshore-gaming","title":{"rendered":"Philippine senator repeats call for local governments to check for illegal offshore gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Senator Gatchalian has said that failure to act against illegal offshore gaming operators could result in legal consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Philippines.- Senator Sherwin Gatchalian<\/strong> has said local government units (LGUs) play “a crucial role” in enforcing a ban on all offshore gaming operators by year-end. Gatchalian has called on LGUs to monitor activities in their areas, especially gatherings of foreign nationals that might signal offshore gaming operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said some operators had split into smaller groups to avoid detection, citing a recent raid in Panabo City, Davao del Norte<\/a>, where workers were moved after a hub in Metro Manila was shut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gatchalian said: “Offshore gaming operators became small groups that went into hiding in the provinces. This is where local governments come in, to be vigilant and be alert to such events. LGUs must be vigilant and proactive in addressing these activities. They cannot claim ignorance of what is happening within their areas of responsibility.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He warned that LGU officials who do not act against illegal offshore gaming operators could face legal consequences. Gatchalian cited the case of Jaime Capil, the former mayor of Pampanga, Porac, who was suspended by the Ombudsman for alleged neglect of duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gatchalian also called for strong cooperation among LGUs, law enforcement agencies, the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to ensure all offshore gaming operator hubs are shut down by 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DILG secretary says 47 offshore gaming operators still operating<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jesus Crispin Remulla<\/strong>, secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), has\u00a0said that 47 licensed offshore gaming operators are still operating in the Philippines. He said the DILG will begin site inspections on December 15 to ensure operators are in the process of winding down activities following the ban issued under\u00a0Executive Order (EO) 74<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey should show that they are winding down their operations. We are also accounting the visas of foreign workers, mostly Chinese nationals,\u201d he said in a television interview. \u201cThese two are interconnected. Once POGOs cease operations, they should leave the country because they do not have a valid working visa anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senator Gatchalian has said that failure to act against illegal offshore gaming operators could result in legal consequences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":25406,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Senator Gatchalian emphasizes the critical role of Local Government Units (LGUs) in enforcing the Philippines' ban on offshore gaming operators (POGOs) by year-end, warning of legal consequences for non-compliant officials. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) confirms 47 licensed POGOs are still operating and will commence site inspections on December 15 to monitor their winding down processes and the departure of foreign nationals.","focusai_entities":"Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Jaime Capil, Jesus Crispin Remulla, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Ombudsman","focusai_location":"Philippines, Panabo City, Davao del Norte, Metro Manila, Pampanga, Porac","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.9), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"LGU Legal Precedents?","query":"What are the specific legal precedents or statutes under which LGU officials could be prosecuted for 'neglect of duty' in the context of failing to enforce the POGO ban?"},{"label":"PAGCOR Asset Management?","query":"How will PAGCOR and other economic zone authorities manage the transition and potential re-purposing of assets previously utilized by POGOs following the ban's enforcement?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[439,16333],"tags":[20326],"class_list":["post-777021396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-illegal-gambling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777021396","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=777021396"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777021396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777021415,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777021396\/revisions\/777021415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777021396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777021396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777021396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}