On July 22, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced a comprehensive ban on offshore gaming operators (POGOs), aiming to improve public security and combat crime through this prohibition.
Unexpectedly, this policy not only poses economic challenges but also triggers a series of profound social issues. Today, the butterfly effect of the ban has exceeded expectations, with economic problems clearly visible and social issues even more astonishing.
In a word: The boomerang shot by Marcos has ultimately hit the Filipinos themselves!
Mixed-race Filipino children become victims! Unattended, how innocent!
The POGO ban has led to the deportation of tens of thousands of foreign workers, resulting in many children born to POGO workers and Filipino women becoming stateless and facing the plight of being unattended.
The Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) points out that recently, 15 toddlers, ranging from a few months to three years old, have sought government help because their Filipino mothers cannot support them after their fathers were deported.
It is well known that many Filipino women rely on Chinese men for financial support when dating and having children. However, with the deportation of these workers, these women have lost their source of income, struggling even to afford milk powder and diapers for their children, let alone medical care or education.
The worst-case scenario might be homelessness, turning them into street wanderers!
What's more worrying is that some of these children are stateless due to their parents' status and might have to wait until adulthood to resolve their identity issues. Until then, their survival and education remain unsolvable problems.
Although only 15 Filipino women have sought government help, it is believed that there are far more than 15 such cases, possibly even hundreds!
Although PAOCC has joined forces with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to promise emergency aid to these families, this is clearly just a drop in the bucket. How to solve such predicaments thoroughly and long-term remains a bleak hope.
PS: Regarding this matter, there is also criticism from Filipino human rights organizations against the Chinese for lacking humanity.
However, there are indeed many who are responsible for their children and want to bring their wives and children back to their home country. It's just a pity that the Philippine government forcibly repatriates these workers, not giving them a chance to sort out their family affairs! And it was only when these mothers came to the government for help with their children that the government realized this situation!
As Chinese leave, the Philippines faces a wave of unemployment and business closures
The disappearance of POGOs has not only led to the deportation of tens of thousands of foreign workers but also left many Filipinos jobless. The closure of the gambling industry has had a particularly significant impact on real estate, dining, and retail sectors. Once thriving gambling buildings are now surrounded by closed supermarkets, shut-down restaurants, and a depressed rental market.
Netizens complain: When going out to find a place to eat, more than half have already closed down.
Additionally, many landlords face economic losses due to the inability to find tenants, and many Filipino families are in financial crisis. Even some nannies working for Chinese families are worried about losing their jobs.
A netizen mentioned that their nanny frequently asks if they will leave, fearing the loss of her job. Because she's afraid of losing her job and not having food to eat, a Filipino nanny who used to eat one bowl of rice per meal now eats two bowls, consuming 20 kilograms of rice a month, equivalent to the monthly rice consumption of two adults!
What's more, the netizen themselves are also struggling and are preparing to discuss reducing the rent with the landlord. Otherwise, they only have the options of moving or dismissing the nanny.
But no matter which option, the ultimate loss will definitely be borne by the Filipinos themselves. This could cause the already struggling Filipino nanny community to lose their livelihoods!
Soaring prices and the "Half Bowl of Rice" plan, a typical "off-the-cuff" idea!
After the POGO ban, the issue of rising prices in the Philippines has become more severe. Data shows that compared to the period from 2016 to 2018 under Duterte and from 2022 to 2024 under Marcos, the average price of 26 essential goods has increased by 44%!!
Gasoline prices have risen from 50 pesos per liter to 70 pesos, an increase of 40%; onion prices have almost doubled, from 90 pesos to 175 pesos; electricity bills have also risen from 1750 pesos to 2750 pesos, with some families even facing bills as high as 5000 pesos.
Amid such immense economic pressure, Marcos has proposed the "Half Bowl of Rice" policy, asking the dining industry to offer smaller portions of rice to reduce waste. Previously, there was unlimited rice refills, but now, at most, three bowls!
This policy sounds good, claiming to save food and teach the nation the value of food.
But, brother, there are still many people who can't afford to eat! Instead of making people in restaurants eat less, shouldn't you be focusing on solving the issues of soaring prices, low food production, and insufficient reserves?
It's no wonder that this move has been criticized by many media outlets as a symbol of "incompetence in solving problems," a typical "off-the-cuff" idea. Not observing reality, not considering the actual situation, it simply ignores the real needs of the grassroots population! The people wasting food are in the minority, while many more can't afford rice!
Many Filipinos already earn very little money, barely enough to support their families, and now Marcos won't even let them eat a few more bites of rice! Might as well starve to death!
So, does Marcos regret his decision?
The original intention of the POGO ban was to improve public security. But now, all signs indicate that this policy lacks comprehensive planning and overlooks its profound impact on the economy and society.
Issues of abandoned babies, unemployment waves, and soaring prices ultimately put pressure on the Filipinos themselves!
An overly hasty one-size-fits-all approach completely disregards the nation's and the people's tolerance threshold! There was also a lack of advance planning! Even the executive order was delayed for nearly three months before it finally emerged!
The style and efficiency of the Philippine government's work really don't want to be criticized anymore!
Marcos thought the POGO ban would block the source of crime, but by blocking without facilitating, it has sparked more social conflicts.
It's unclear whether Marcos regrets his decision!
Conclusion
Fairly speaking, the Philippine government's policy of comprehensively banning POGOs may have been well-intentioned, hoping to reduce some criminal activities and provide a better public security environment for the Philippines. However, the Marcos government's execution and planning have been poor! What should have been a measure to improve public security has turned into a catalyst for a new round of social crises.
Not to mention, in just six years under Marcos's administration, the fact that the prices of many essential goods have risen by more than 40% is quite astonishing!
Ensuring the welfare of the people is the most important task for any country, but the results of Marcos's governance are evident, truly worrying, and it's no wonder some people are reminiscing about the good times under Duterte's rule.
If the government cannot properly address these derivative issues in subsequent actions, the "success" of the ban may only be empty talk, and the lives of ordinary people will become even more difficult... The Philippines' international standing will also fall further behind!
