Marcos inks Anti-POGO Act of 2025

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. has signed into law the measure banning and declaring as illegal offshore gaming operations in the country.

Republic Act No. 12312 shall be known as the Anti-POGO Act of 2025.

Under the law, the prohibited acts include the establishment, operation, or conduct of offshore gaming in the Philippines as well as the acceptance of any form of betting for offshore gaming operations.

It also prohibits the creation and operation of a POGO hub or POGO site in the Philippines as well as the introduction, use, or possession of POGO gaming equipment or POGO gaming paraphernalia in the Philippines. 

Registering companies used to conceal offshore gaming operations is not allowed under the new law. 

Section 5 of the new law states that the license of any person or entity as POGO, POGO gaming content provider, or POGO accredited service provider in relation to offshore gaming operations in the Philippines, previously issued by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), special economic zone authorities, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), freeport authorities, and other government agencies, are hereby withdrawn, revoked, or cancelled permanently. 

They shall immediately wind down their operations not later than the effectivity of the Act. 

The law revokes the power of PAGCOR, special economic zone authorities, TIEZA, freeport authorities, investment promotion agencies, and other government agencies to issue a license or permit for the conduct of offshore gaming, or to issue a license, permit, or accreditation to POGO gaming content providers and POGO-accredited service providers.

Also, all Alien Employment Permits (AEP) and certificates of exemption and exclusions issued by the Department of Labor and Employment as well as any visa or work permit issued by the Bureau of Immigration or any other visa-issuing agencies to persons engaged in offshore gaming operations are hereby withdrawn, revoked, or cancelled permanently. 

An Administrative Oversight Committee will be created to oversee the implementation of the Act. The body will be composed of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, the Department of Justice, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government. 

The committee shall ensure the speedy investigation and prosecution of all persons accused or detained for the crimes punishable under this Act as well as monitor the progress of their cases. 

It shall also conduct regular audits of the PAGCOR, special economic zone authorities, the TIEZA, freeport authorities, investment promotion agencies, and other relevant government agencies to check, among others, if only outbound data are being transmitted by their respective internet service providers.

The law was signed by the President on October 23, 2025. 

Criminal playground no more

Senate Deputy Majority Leader Risa Hontiveros welcomed the passage of the anti-POGO bill into law, hoping that it will help the government ensure that “no POGO will ever turn the Philippines into their criminal playground again.”

Hontiveros is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, which conducted investigations and exposed the alleged crimes linked to POGO, leading to the eventual arrest of former Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo.

“Mula sa mga menor de edad na pinipilit pumasok sa prostitusyon para pagserbisyuhan ang mga Chinese POGO workers, hanggang sa mahiwagang kwento ng mga scam hubs ni Mayor Alice Guo, clearly, POGOs have harmed our country in more ways than we can imagine,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

(From minors being forced into prostitution to serve Chinese POGO workers, to the stories of Mayor Alice Guo's scam hubs, clearly, POGOs have harmed our country in more ways than we can imagine.)

“I am overjoyed about the Anti-POGO Act’s passage into law. Sa wakas, maiwawasto na ang pagkakamali ng nakaraang administrasyon sa pagpapasok ng industriya ng POGO sa bansa,” she added.

(Finally, the mistake of the previous administration in opening the country for the POGO industry will be corrected.)

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, principal author and sponsor of the Anti-POGO Act, said the new law would also ensure sustained government action against POGO-like entities that have remained in the country despite the ban being implemented.

“I am elated by the enactment of this measure as the POGOs have brought nothing but a surge in criminalities that include kidnapping, human trafficking, and prostitution, among others. This isn’t just an economic issue but a moral imperative,” Gatchalian said.

“Makakamit natin ang totoong pag-unlad kung uunahin natin ang kapakanan ng ating mga kababayan at peace and order sa bansa. Ang batas na ito ay para tuluyan nang mapuksa ang mga salot na dulot ng POGO,” he added.

(We can achieve real progress if we prioritize the welfare of our countrymen, and peace and order in the country. This law seeks to completely eradicate the plagues caused by POGO.) — with Giselle Ombay/AOL/RSJ, GMA Integrated News