On September 9, 2024, Rufus Rodriguez, representative of the second district of Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao, Philippines, called on the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to swiftly shut down the remaining illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), and warned not to wait until President Marcos gets angry.
Gilbert Cruz, Executive Director of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), revealed that there are still about 200 illegal POGOs in operation.
In a statement on September 8, Rodriguez said that DILG Minister Benhur Abalos should instruct the Philippine National Police (PNP) to strictly enforce the President's directives to close these illegal POGOs. Justice Minister Crispin Remulla should also command the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to participate in the operation.
In the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22, 2024, President Marcos ordered the immediate prohibition of illegal POGOs and requested that legal POGOs cease operations by the end of the year. However, Cruz pointed out that hundreds of underground POGOs continue to operate, including large centers that have been shut down, such as in Tarlac's Bamban and Pampanga's Porac.
Rodriguez suggested that the PNP and NBI should work closely with the PAOCC, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and telecommunications companies to locate illegal POGO operations by tracking internet and mobile activities. He emphasized that technological means make tracking these operators not difficult, especially after the recent police discovery of thousands of SIM cards in illegal POGO centers.
He also added that illegal POGOs have downsized their operations from entire buildings to just one floor.
