MANILA, Philippines (AP) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday ordered an immediate ban on widespread and mostly Chinese-run online gaming operations in the Philippines accusing them of venturing into crimes, including financial scams, human trafficking, torture, kidnappings and murders.
Marcos also said in his state-of-the-nation address that the Philippines would press efforts to strengthen its defensive capability by forging security alliances with friendly countries to counter threats to its territorial interests in the South China Sea, adding that his country would only settle disputes through diplomacy.
He made the remarks on the territorial conflicts before legislators, top officials and diplomats at the House of Representatives after the worst confrontation between Chinese and Filipino forces in the disputed waters last month.
Marcos’ decision to ban the Chinese-run online gambling outfits — estimated to number more than 400 across the Philippines and employing tens of thousands of Chinese and Southeast Asian nationals— came amid an ongoing government crackdown backed by Beijing.
That led to the shutdown of several sprawling complexes with dozens of buildings, where authorities suspect thousands of Chinese, Vietnamese and other nationals mostly from Southeast Asia have been illegally recruited and forced to work in dismal conditions.
Relatedly, Philippine senators have ordered the arrest of a town mayor in Tarlac province north of Manila who has failed to appear in public hearings where allegations against her were being investigated, including her alleged links to a large online gambling outfit near her townhall and suspicions that she hid her Chinese nationality fraudulently to be able to run for a public office reserved only for Filipinos.
The mayor, Alice Guo, has denied any wrongdoing but has been suspended from her post with her financial assets ordered frozen. Philippine senators say the massive online gambling industry has flourished largely due to corruption in regulatory agencies and payoffs to local officials.
“Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations have ventured into illicit areas furthest from gaming such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder,” Marcos said. “The grave abuse and disrespect to our system of laws must stop.”
Marcos ordered the government’s gaming agency to wind down the operations of the so-called Philippine offshore gaming operators, or POGOs, by yearend, drawing loud applause from legislators and top officials.
He instructed labor officials to look for alternative jobs for Filipino workers who would be displaced because of the shutdown.
On Manila’s increasingly hostile disputes with Beijing, Marcos stressed the Philippines would not back down but would only resort to peaceful means to resolve any dispute.
“The West Philippine Sea is not only a figment of our imagination. It belongs to us,” Marcos said, using the Philippine name for the stretch of the South China Sea that Manila claims. His remarks drew loud applause and a standing ovation among lawmakers.
“In the face of challenges to our territorial sovereignty, we will assert our rights and interests in the same fair and pacific way that we have always done,” Marcos said. “Proper diplomatic channels and mechanisms under the rules-based international order remain the only acceptable means of settling disputes.”
Philippine efforts, he said, were continuing “to strengthen our defense posture, both through developing self-reliance and through partnerships with like-minded states.”
Chinese coast guard and other forces have used powerful water cannons and dangerous blocking maneuvers against Philippine forces, particularly in the Philippines-occupied Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, since last year. The increasingly hostile confrontations in the shoal and outlying waters have sparked fears they could escalate into a larger conflict that could involve the United States, the longtime treaty ally of the Philippines.
In the worst confrontation, Chinese forces on motorboats repeatedly rammed and then boarded two Philippine navy boats on June 17 to prevent Filipino personnel from transferring food and other supplies including firearms to the ship outpost in the shallows of the shoal, according to the Philippine government.
The Chinese seized the Philippine navy boats and damaged them with machetes and improvised spears. They also seized seven M4 rifles, which were packed in cases, and other supplies. The violent faceoff wounded several Filipino navy personnel, including one who lost his thumb, in a chaotic skirmish that was captured in video and photos that were later made public by Philippine officials.
Washington has repeatedly renewed a warning that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty if Philippine forces come under attack in the South China Sea and outlying waters. But Marcos has said the Philippines would not invoke the treaty due to the June 17 violence.
On Sunday, the Philippine government said it had reached a deal with China in the hope of ending confrontations at the Second Thomas Shoal. The crucial agreement was reached after a series of meetings between Philippine and Chinese diplomats in Manila and exchanges of diplomatic notes that aimed to establish a mutually acceptable arrangement at the shoal without conceding either side’s territorial claims, two Philippine officials told The Associated Press.
Neither side released the text of the agreement, which has been reviewed by top Philippine security officials, who spoke to the AP they said on condition of anonymity for lack of authority to discuss details of the accord publicly.
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Associated Press journalist Joeal Calupitan in Manila contributed to this report.
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