THE declaration by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his State of the Nation Address on Monday that Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) are now banned was warmly welcomed by the entire country, as it should be. Although a handful of misguided officials defied reason to advocate allowing this social cancer to go untreated because of its imagined financial benefits to the government, anyone else with an ounce of sense, including the government's economic team, almost the entire legislature, most business groups, the law enforcement community, the media, and an overwhelming majority of the public called on the President to do the right thing, and he did.

The right thing to do, however, goes beyond the order to remove POGOs because even though that was the decision that needed to be made for the good of the country, it will have consequences for some local workers, local businesses, the real estate sector and government income. The government clearly understands this and indicated by the President's decision that it believes, in contrast to the most vocal POGO advocates such as Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chairman Alejandro Tengco, that those consequences can be addressed. Now, the government must follow through and demonstrate that this is indeed the case.