The League of Cities of the Philippines recognizes the dangers of the illicit activities that have arisen from the operation of Philippine Online Gaming Operations. As our President has said, they have strayed from their professed business and devolved to unlawful activities such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, and even murder.
We, the local chief executives of the LCP, know that criminals - whether guised as POGO operators or not - are exploiting the local bureaucratic processes for their unlawful purposes.
We shall use the period before our scheduled general assembly to identify vulnerabilities in our local business licensing and monitoring processes. We will make sure to tap the expertise of national agencies and entities who spearhead the implementation of the directive of the President in his SONA: to wind down and cease the operations of POGOs by the end of this year.
The League of Cities of the Philippines fully supports the recent pronouncement of the President. We will take immediate actions and measures to ensure that LCP Members will strictly comply with the order of the President. We will not turn a blind eye to illegal activities in POGO hubs. We will not allow the use of local business licenses to hurt residents in our jurisdictions.
Mayor Joy G. Belmonte
Quezon City
LCP Acting National President