Philippine president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Junior must ultimately take a firm stand on the controversial issue of POGOs or online gaming firms in the Philippines. Senators such as Riza Hontiveros and Sherwin Gatchalian are wary of them and consider them national security threats. And I think 91% of Filipinos share the same sentiment.

The thing is, your advisers Mr. President are sending conflicting views about these POGOs. Your national security adviser, former General Eduardo Ano thinks that there is still insufficient reason to declare them “national security threats” while qualifying his remarks as “not enough reason for the armed forces” to get themselves involved. see link: https://mb.com.ph/2024/6/13/ano-pog-os-not-a-national-security-threat-but-nsc-is-continuously-monitoring.

This differs from the view of your Defense secretary Gibo Teodoro who, like Ano, qualified his remarks by considering those POGOs near military installations as “worrisome” and are of national security concerns. Teodoro sees them as “threats.” see link: https://tribune.net.ph/2024/06/12/gibo-shut-down-pogos-near-camps#:~:text=Defense%20Secretary%20Gilberto%20Teodoro%20Jr.%20said%20rogue%20Philippine%20Offshore%20Gaming,down%2C%20citing%20national%20security%20concerns.

I don’t blame the two gentlemen from making such remarks since they are both looking at this from different or differing perspectives. The thing is, if the policy of this administration is to get prepared on possible external attacks or threats outside our borders, then, this administration must be resolute and consider banning these POGOs altogether–whether or not they are near to military installations. The fact that these POGO’s operate communication equipment and their markets are Chinese consumers based in the mainland cannot erase the high possibility that important or sensitive intelligence information are being passed to Communist authorities in Beijing. Everyone knows that the Communist Party of China controls the communication infrastructure or the telecomms gateway which is being used to transmit data from the Philippines to China. Meaning, if you call someone in Hongkong or in the mainland from the Philippines, your call will definitely be part of a humonguous surveillance apparatus.

I apologize, but there is no need for you, Mr. Ano, to confiscate more People’s Liberation Army (PLA) uniforms or PLA communist medals from these locations. Similarly, Mr. Defense Secretary, there is no need to consider establishments near military camps as national security concerns just because they are operated by Chinese registered firms, some of which are public corporations run by Chinese parent companies. Simply being operated by publicly funded Chinese companies is reason enough to be suspicious.

Is it necessary to wait until we see armed and uniformed PLA elements before we take action? Considering that the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission has found enough evidence of criminal activities being undertaken, many Filipinos, including myself, believe that this is sufficient reason to call for the shutdown of these POGOs.

The more pertinent question is this–why is it that our president is taking his leisurely time to decide the fates of these so-called magnets of illicit activities? Maybe he’s waiting for the filing of criminal charges against several individuals linked with POGOs before taking action?

Or, there is a deeper reason behind this dilly-dallying, huh, Mr. President? Some tattle tales are spreading malicious talk about this gentleman or the main financier behind these POGOs as close to several Cabinet members and some say, even the First Family. Is that the reason?  The Filipino people deserve an answer immediately.