Philippine Senator Grace Poe has called for legislation to ban Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), saying text message scams have dropped significantly after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced a ban on POGOs.
During the Senate plenary session on August 5, Poe emphasized that text message scams have significantly decreased since Marcos announced the ban in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22, 2024. Poe, a leading advocate of SIM registration laws aimed at curbing crimes such as text messaging and online fraud, highlighted the impact of the presidential directive.
"I just want to make everyone aware of something, which is the power of the words that our president said in his State of the Union address on July 22."
The Inquirer quoted Poe as saying: "Since that time, and actually from a little earlier, if you've noticed, there's been almost no text message scams that say you've won a lottery or need to pick up a package. ”
"This means that these POGOs operating illegally in our country have a lot to do with these scams."
Poe, who chaired the Senate Public Services Committee that pushed for the passage of the SIM card registration bill, was surprised that text message scams persisted despite the bill being enacted. She now attributes the drop in scam numbers to a recent crackdown on illegal POGOs.
"So the president's words about no longer allowing legal and illegal POGOs have had a big impact on at least some of these scams that we've received. Of course, that doesn't mean that this phenomenon is going away forever."
In light of these developments, Poe is advocating for formal legislation to ban POGOs altogether. She stressed the need for laws to solidify the ban on POGOs and other harmful online platforms.
"There may be other scammers out there trying to defraud our fellow citizens, but at least this is a big step forward," Poe said. "We'd better legislate this ban and make sure no POGO or POGO, legal or illegal, is allowed. Any other online platform that is harmful to our fellow citizens.”
President Marcos has ordered an immediate halt to POGO operations, instructing the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation to phase out these companies by the end of 2024.
