IMMIGRATION Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado yesterday said all foreign nationals who have been arrested for crimes related to the illegal operation of offshore gaming firms will now be deported only via direct flights to their destination countries.
Viado said that under Board of Commissioners Resolution No. 2025-002 dated March 21, 2025, deported foreign nationals with links to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) can only be placed on direct flights to their home countries. except when no direct flights are available from Manila.
“The new policy aims to prevent foreign fugitives from using stopovers to avoid justice or continue illegal activities in other countries,” Viado said, adding the new rule follows recommendations from Senators Risa Hontiveros and Sherwin Gatchalian, who pushed for tighter deportation controls especially for foreigners who have been found to be involved in illegal activities in the country.
Hontiveros has earlier bared that three Chinese nationals believed to be POGO “bosses” were able to evade deportation after they were placed in a flight with a layover in Hong Kong.
Hontiveros said the three Chinese – Lyu Xun, Kong Xiangrui and Wang Shangle, the alleged owners of the POGO facility at RiRance building in Parañaque City that was raided by authorities on January 8, “never arrived in China” and went missing while their flight was on a stopover in Hong Kong.
Viado said additional immigration security measures will be implemented and urged lawmakers to support further reforms to enhance the country’s immigration system.
Last week, Viado appealed to lawmakers to amend existing laws to close legal loopholes that foreign fugitives use to evade deportation.
He made the appeal after the Bureau of Immigration (BI) uncovered legal maneuverings by some lawyers who file cases against their foreign national-clients to prevent them from being deported.
“Some legal practitioners have been exploiting the system by filing cases against their own fugitive clients, arguing that they must remain in the Philippines due to ‘ongoing legal cases,'” Viado said.
