The government has ordered the full dismantling of all remaining Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) operations, rolling out a tighter, more coordinated crackdown to ensure they do not resurface in any form.
On Wednesday, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto highlighted the administration’s push to fully enforce the POGO ban, warning against attempts to revive the industry under new names or structures.
Recto made the statement during the signing and adoption of the Inter-Agency Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for implementing Executive Order No. 74, which formally bans POGOs in the country.
The SOP designates the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) as the lead coordinating body, with the Department of Justice (DOJ) embedding prosecutors early in case build-up to strengthen prosecutions. It also involves the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to track financial flows and corporate structures linked to illegal operations. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will provide temporary shelter and protection for victims and trafficked persons.
“Hindi kailanman magiging katanggap-tanggap ang isang industriyang kumikita habang winawasak ang tiwala sa batas at dinadagdagan ang hirap ng ating mga kababayan,” Recto said. (An industry that profits while destroying trust in the law and worsening the plight of our people will never be acceptable.)
He added that the campaign leaves no room for compromise: “Walang atrasan, walang palusot, at walang puwang ang mga sindikatong umaabuso sa ating sistema.” (There is no turning back, no excuses, and no space for syndicates that abuse our system.)
Recto said the government has already made significant progress since the ban, citing revoked licenses, shuttered operations, and a series of enforcement raids nationwide.
He said the newly signed SOP strengthens the government’s response by standardizing inter-agency coordination, improving evidence handling, and ensuring stronger case build-up toward convictions. It also includes mechanisms for asset preservation and disruption of financial networks sustaining illegal activities.
Developed with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Programme Office in the Philippines, the SOP consolidates 15 existing laws and issuances into a unified enforcement framework covering intelligence gathering, operations, prosecution, and asset recovery.
Officials said the measure aims to prevent illegal POGO groups from re-establishing themselves under different fronts or business models, describing them as adaptive networks linked to transnational crime.
“The point of all this is not simply to react to crime, but to deny it the space to regroup, the resources to survive, and the impunity to flourish,” Recto said. “May this signing send a clear and unequivocal message to POGOs: your time is up. No leeway remains, and the full force of the law will now bear down on you.”