(Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has outlawed online casinos catering to Chinese gamblers, responding to calls to shut down an industry that he said stoked crimes including money laundering.
“Effective today, all POGOs are banned,” Marcos said during his annual address to lawmakers on Monday, referring to Philippine offshore gaming operators. He instructed the gaming regulator to wind down and close these facilities by the end of the year. He also directed economic managers to find new jobs for employees who will be displaced.
The ban will not significantly affect the economy, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said in a statement Tuesday. The industry that has dwindled since its peak a few years back has total economic costs worth 265.7 billion pesos ($4.5 billion) annually including risks to investments and tourism, according to government estimates.
That’s higher than its benefits pegged at 166.5 billion pesos per year including tax and gaming revenues, as well as impact on consumption and real estate.
The POGO sector flourished during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte — Marcos’ predecessor and a former ally who steered the nation’s foreign policy toward China. At that time, tens of thousands of Chinese nationals descended upon Manila, boosting property prices and consumption.
The president announced the ban as the Senate investigates a mayor accused of money laundering through entities with alleged POGO links. Authorities have frozen as many as 90 banks accounts linked to suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and other individuals over suspected laundering, human trafficking and fraud - allegations that Guo’s camp has repeatedly denied.
“The grave abuse and disrespect to our system of our laws must stop,” Marcos said on POGO, drawing cheers from the crowd. These gambling operators “have ventured into illicit areas” including financial scams, money laundering, human trafficking, kidnapping and even murder.
In a speech that lasted almost an hour-and-a-half, Marcos remained assertive on the nation’s territorial sovereignty even as he showed openness to ease tensions with Beijing on the South China Sea.
“We continuously try to find ways to de-escalate tensions in contested areas with our counterparts, without compromising our position and our principles. I know that our neighbors too are doing their very best to make this work,” Marcos said without mentioning China. “The Philippines cannot yield. The Philippines cannot waver,” he added.
During a wide-ranging address that flagged measures to arrest rising cost of living, provide more benefits to poor Filipinos and ramp up infrastructure spending, Marcos sought to bolster the strength of his political coalition less than a year before the midterm election.
“President Marcos has taken a principled stance against POGO, demonstrating his commitment to protecting the country’s sovereignty and standing up to transnational criminal elements,” said Alvin Camba, a research advisor at Washington-based Associated Universities Inc.
“This principled approach is likely to resonate with Filipino voters in the upcoming 2025 elections, as it represents a consistent and decisive leadership style that Filipinos can rally behind,” Camba said.
“As we enter the mid-term, our infrastructure development remains sustained, strategic, and on schedule,” Marcos said, citing power, airport, rail and other public works.
He touted his achievements as his alliance with the Dutertes frayed. Vice President Sara Duterte, who resigned from the cabinet this month, snubbed Marcos’ address and said she won’t be tuning in at all.
In an apparent swipe at his predecessor, Marcos talked about his “bloodless war” on illegal drugs that had seized more than 44 billion pesos worth of illicit items and arrested tens of thousands of suspects.
The president also asked lawmakers to pass a proposed 6.35 trillion pesos budget for 2025, along with a legislation that will enhance incentives to lure investments. He also urged Congress to review the power industry law and find ways to cut energy costs. Marcos didn’t mention an earlier proposal of his allies to amend the Constitution.
While the economy has demonstrated resilience and inflation has cooled to within the central bank’s 2%-4% target this year, elevated cost of living has dominated Filipinos’ worries. Marcos pledged measures to rein in prices that will enable his government to spread the benefits of faster economic growth.
“The hard lesson of this last year has made it very clear that whatever current data proudly bannering our country as among the best-performing in Asia means nothing to a Filipino, who is confronted by the price of rice at 45 to 65 pesos per kilo,” Marcos said. “We feel you. We are not taking your concerns for granted,” he said.
--With assistance from Ditas Lopez.
(Adds finance chief’s comments from third paragraph.)
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