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Enacting law to permanently ban POGO: Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros stresses the need to enact a law to permanently expel and ban Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in the Philippines. During Monday’s plenary session December 9, 2024, Hontiveros said Senate Bill No. 2868 or the Anti-POGO Act of 2024 will stop POGO operations in the country. The deputy minority leader further said POGOs promised jobs and assistance, but what they truly brought was heinous deception, abuse, and danger not only to Filipinos but also to national order and security. “It is only right that we enact the proposal to expel and ban POGOs in our country. Since the previous administration, my strong opposition to POGOs and the evils that are inseparable from them has been clear,” Hontiveros said in Filipino. “I hope this bill is clear enough to put an end to all operations of POGOs, IGLs (internet gaming licensee), or such entities by any other name. At the proper time, I will introduce amendments to provide stiffer penalties to government officials who aid and abet the continued operations of these POGOs,” she explained. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)