Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva's reaction on reports that the Philippines is blacklisted for Chinese tourists

The statement of the Chinese ambassador, as relayed by Senate President Zubiri, on blacklisting the Philippines for Chinese tourists only concretizes our position that the social-and now economic-costs of POGO operations outweigh its contributions to our country.

In addition to wreaking havoc in peace, order, and morality in the country, POGOs now also pose a threat to our tourism industry. We had as much as 1.74 million tourists coming from China in 2019 who spent as much as $2.33 billion when they visited. Our tourism industry had only just begun getting back to its feet from the pandemic, and China blacklisting the Philippines for tourism is not a good sign for the industry and for our economy as a whole.

As we have said time and time again, it all boils down to policy: Do we want our country to be known as a POGO hub or a tourism hub? The answer is clear. Let's put an end to POGOs.