"Spinach" kidnapping storm again! "POGO" is forbidden to be mentioned again! Will the Philippines end the "gaming era"?

According to Philippine media reports, on March 27, Senator Grace Poe urged the executive branch to take action on issues related to the operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in the country, in particular calling for their ban.

(Information picture)

Before Grace Poe made this statement, four suspects in the kidnapping of Filipino-Chinese businessmen were arrested. A few days ago, Senator Zhang Qiaowei issued a report calling for a total ban on POGO.

Although Grace Poe praised the arrests of the suspects, he insisted that authorities should end the country's spate of kidnappings and that no ransom should be paid to the kidnappers.

"There needs to be bolder steps to crack down on kidnap-for-ransom groups, which have become more brazen and are reportedly helped by rogue or AWOL servicemen or police."

Grace Poe added: "We are waiting to take decisive action on the operation of POGO, and we have repeatedly said that these online betting industry has triggered criminal activities including kidnapping."

(3 Chinese and 1 Vietnamese kidnappers arrested)

In December 2022, the senator also shared his privileged speech, in which he disclosed the kidnapping and trafficking of a woman who was allegedly sold to a POGO company in Jiamei.

Because of this, he submitted a resolution calling for an investigation in the Senate into whether POGO is really helping the country, or whether it has had more bad effects.

Following this, the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Zhang Qiaowei, immediately held a series of hearings. A report last week recommended a total ban on the POGO industry.

Rosa, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, also launched a parallel investigation into POGO-related crimes.