The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) supports the total ban of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country and is confident that the big personalities behind the operations of the illegal POGOs will be 'unmasked' in the span of five months.
"This directive of the President (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) is a testament to the commitment of his administration to rid the country of these gambling activities that have become legal covers for their crimes," PAOCC Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said in his official statement on Monday.
The undersecretary confidently mentioned that the order to wind down all POGO operations will be enough to identify all the 'major players' in the illicit gaming industry.
Usec. Cruz said that the time until the end of year is also sufficient to create a database of all foreigners working in POGOs.
"This five-month period provides ample time not only to identify the bosses, but more importantly, this will be enough to create a database of all foreign nationals working in these companies," Cruz said.
He stated that this is necessary to ensure that foreign POGO workers will be deported back to their home countries.
PAOCC guaranteed that they will be coordinating with the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, the Bureau of Immigration, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Nation Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to implement the president's order.
"More earnestly, PAOCC and its partner agenices will strive to hail these foreign criminals and their local enablers to jail to pay for their crimes," said Cruz.
