Senators want Marcos to address the Pogo ban in Sona.

Separately on Sunday, Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Aquilino Pimentel III urged President Marcos to address the mounting worries about the Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) in his July 22 State of the Nation Address (Sona).

“Who knows, he might just surprise us,” Pimentel said in a radio interview on Sunday. “It’s possible that he announces at the Sona that he’s now banning completely all Pogo activities in the Philippines.”

“The President’s popularity and approval rating will surely shoot up if he announces it in his Sona … that would be a good political move. But of course, I am not the political advisor of the President. But it’s indeed possible,” Pimentel said.

“If I were the President, of course, I will just wait for the Sona so that it would be one of the highlights of his Sona,” he said.

Following a Senate investigation into the Pogo industry, the Philippine Senate has issued warrants for the arrest of Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and her family. Pogos' connections to illicit acts like incarceration, money laundering, torture, and internet scams have led Senators Pimentel and Recto to propose a ban on the app. Guo has moved to the Supreme Court to overturn the Senate summons, arguing that it infringed upon her rights to privacy, due process, and the constitution.

The accountant for Guo's family businesses, Nancy Gamo, was taken into custody by the Senate security team and is currently under Senate protection.
Dennis Cunanan, the authorized representative of Zun Yuan Technology Inc.'s predecessor, Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc., which was searched in Bamban last March, was also the subject of separate arrest warrants.