OPERATIVES of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) arrested 401 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, and 52 Filipinos during a raid of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Pasay City on Wednesday.
In a radio interview, PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz yesterday said four of those arrested are believed to be the bosses of the raided POGO hub, which is located at a seven-storey building along Macapagal Avenue.
PAOCC operatives, in coordination with police units and with the local government of Pasay, raided the POGO facility after receiving information from a concerned citizen about the large presence of foreigners in the area.
Cruz said the 401 foreigners were composed of 207 Chinese, 132 Vietnamese, 24 Koreans, 14 Indonesians, 12 Myanmar nationals, 11 Malaysians, and a Madagascar national.
Seized during the operation were numerous computers and other equipment allegedly used in scamming operations.
Aside from the POGO workers, Cruz said the building administrator will also be subjected to investigation, saying that it was “impossible” for the administrator to be not aware of the POGO operation.
Cruz said the POGO hub closed last year after President Marcos Jr. ordered a ban of all offshore gaming firms in July. It later reopened and resumed its illegal activities.
Cruz said they even saw the closure notice from the Pasay City government and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) on the door when they raided the POGO hub.
As this developed, Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, in a briefing in Malacañang, assured the public that authorities are looking into the reported resurgence of some illegal POGO operations in the country along with the recurrence of text scams.
“It is the obligation of the government to go after them because they are illegal. You can be sure of our immediate actions on these,” she said inn Filipino.
She also said that concerned authorities are going after suspected POGOs that have been operating without the appropriate permits and licenses.
MASS DEPORTATION
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado yesterday said they are readying another mass deportation of illegal foreign POGO workers after 98 were deported on February 25.
Of the 98 deportees, 91 were among the 450 arrested during a major operation last January 8 in Parañaque City, while the seven others were already detained at the BI detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.
Viado said 10 Vietnamese POGO workers were also deported on the same day.
“We’re readying another mass deportation in the coming days,” Viado told the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon forum where he was asked for an update on the bureau’s continued drive against illegal POGO workers who defied the December 30, 2024 deadline for them to voluntarily depart the country.
Citing data from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor). Viado said an estimated 22,000 of the 33, 863 POGO foreign workers have voluntarily left the country.
He said the BI is working with the Department of Justice, the National Bureau of Investigation, PNP and PAOCC to track down, arrest and deport the remaining POGO workers.
Viado said that since January, the BI has sent home 226 foreign workers to their home countries.
CHINESE SPIES
Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, in a briefing, said Malacañang will beef up its security measures following the arrest of suspected Chinese spies who were allegedly conducting surveillance activities on the Palace, the United States Embassy, and military and police bases.
Castro said the security of the President would also be strengthened, saying the presence of suspected spies is “alarming.”
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), on February 20, arrested two suspected Chinese spies who reportedly paid three Filipinos to drive them around Metro Manila while carrying devices that could mimic cell towers and snatch messages.
They reportedly drove by sensitive sites, including Malacañang Palace, the US embassy, Camp Aguinaldo, Camp Crame and the Villamor Air Base.
In January, the NBI also arrested five suspected Chinese spies for allegedly monitoring the activities of the Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy in Palawan, including its supply missions to troops in the West Philippine Sea.
PIGOs
Senate President Francis Escudero yesterday called on the government to review the operations of Philippine Inland Gaming Operators (PIGO) due to the ills he said it is bringing to the country.
Escudero said that while the government banned POGOs, it allowed PIGOs to continue to operation, which, for him, pose the same gambling addiction to Filipinos.
He noted that the online cockfighting, or e-sabong, is already banned.
“Magkano nga ba ang nakukuha natin dito (How much do we really earn from this)? And like the question we ask in relation with PGO – is it worth it?” he asked.
PIGO was introduced by Pagcor in 2018. It allows operators to conduct business within the Philippines, including casino games, sports betting, and online gambling aimed at regulating and promoting the growth of the local gaming industry. PIGOs target domestic players. – With Jocelyn Montemayor, Ashzel Hachero and Raymond Africa
