THE Cebu City Government said that no Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) establishments were found in Cebu City following an extensive inspection.
Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia announced these findings during his regular press conference at Barangay Binaliw last Monday, August 2, 2024.
Garcia, along with Terence Saavedra, the head of the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO), and local police, conducted inspections across various establishments in the city.
Their investigation revealed no POGO activities, although electronic gaming operations were present.
While the task force could not fully guarantee the absence of POGO or similar operations in the city, Garcia reported that everything appeared to be in order based on their inspections.
“There is no assurance that there are no POGO or POGO-like operations here in the city of Cebu” he said.
“(But) everything is in order. Dili gyud ko makaingon nga wala, but so far, sa among nakit-an, wala gyud,” Garcia added.
The scrutiny of POGO operations in Cebu City intensified after a recent raid on a resort hotel in Lapu-Lapu City last Saturday uncovered ongoing POGO activities. The raid was prompted by several Indonesian workers who managed to escape and report the operations to their embassy in the Philippines.
This local inspection is part of the broader enforcement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s directive issued during his State of the Nation Address on July 22, 2024, which called for a nationwide ban on POGO operations.(MyTVCebu)