MANILA Mayor Honey Lacuna said the city government will not allow Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) which may have operations within the city, albeit legally, to extend a minute more than the deadline given by the President himself.
Lacuna is also urging POGO operators, if any, to already wrap up their businesses and no longer wait for the last day of the year to comply with the directive given by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
It will be recalled that the President, during his state of the nation address, told the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to wind down the operations of POGOs in the country by yearend.
The lady mayor also called on the owners of buildings who may have POGO operators as tenants to serve the due notices and make sure that they will not allow such operations to persist, as this will already be considered illegal.
Manila residents who may be displaced as a result may begin looking for another job, adding that the local government’s pubic employment service office (PESO) headed by Fernan Bermejo is constantly holding job fairs to help those who need work.
Lacuna said that the job offers being supervised by the city’s PESO are open even to senior citizens and persons with disability (PWDs) and that some are fortunate to be hired on the spot.
Meanwhile, the mayor lauded the efforts of the Manila Police District and the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) when they arrested 69 foreigners and 47 Filipinos during a recent raid at a commercial and residential establishment believed to be a scam hub, on Adriatico Street in Manila.
Those rounded up included 35 Chinese nationals, 11 Indonesians and 10 Malaysians.
