Teodoro: Illegal POGOs a natl security concern
DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr yesterday said the illegal operation of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country is a national security concern.
Interviewed during the commemoration of the country’s independence at the Manila North Cemetery, Teodoro said China may be behind the activities of illegal POGOs to weaken an “enemy.”
“Bakit ito national security concern? Kasi pinapahina nila ang ating political, economic, social and peace and order fabric. (Why is this a national security concern? Because they weaken our political, economic, social and peace and order fabric),” said Teodoro.
“Ang pinakamabisang paraan upang pahinain mo ang kalaban mo manggulo ka dun sa bansa nya (The most effective way of weakening your enemy is to cause trouble in its country),” he also said.
China and Philippines are at odds in connection with the long-standing territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
“So aming pinag-aaralan ng mabuti at ang boung gobyerno ay nagbuklod upang itigil itong mga gawain na ito, wala silang karapatan dito (So we are carefully studying this and the entire government is united to stop these activities. They have no right here),” he added, referring to the illegal POGOs.
Teodoro noted that a number of illegal POGOs have been raided by authorities in the past years, the most recent of which was last week involving the Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga.
Like the other raided POGO hubs, Lucky South 99 has been accused of supposed involvement in human trafficking and sexual abuse activities.
During the raid of the Luck South 99, operatives rescued nearly 200 foreigners and Filipinos. One of the rescued victims, a Chinese, was a kidnap victim.
Last week, Teodoro, during the celebration of Sweden’s National Day and reception for visiting Swedish Defense Minister Pí¥l Jonson, said criminal syndicates posing as POGOs can be considered as national security concerns.
“The concern is that we should stop these syndicated criminal activities operating out of our base, which weaken our financial standing, our country ratings, [and] corrupt our society,” said Teodoro, adding that he does not consider the erring establishments as POGOs, noting that the latter operate like a “business processing outsourcing” firm.
“For example, there are legitimate POGOs where the bets and the payoffs are taken from other countries [such as] horse racing in Europe, [and] sports betting; only the matching of bets and payouts are done here but the bets originate [from] outside [the country],” said Teodoro.
“Yung POGO na alam natin [dito sa Pilipinas] na operated to evade the ban on gambling in China, the bets originate here. So, may diperensya. (The POGOs that we know here, they are operating to evade the ban on gambling in China, the bets originate here. So there is a difference),” he said.
ILLEGAL POGOs
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) yesterday said approximately 255 former offshore gaming operations, or POGOs, are operating illegally in the country.
Alejandro Tengco, Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), said that due to their involvement in criminal activities, the Pagcor revoked the overseas gaming licenses of the POGO hubs on September last year.
“When I was appointed as chairman and CEO of Pagcor, we had more or less than 298 licenses at that time. After some studies, we found that many of those who have this license were not operating as overseas gaming,” Tengco said.
“They used Pagcor’s license for criminal activities, such as credit card fraud, investment fraud, cryptocurrency fraud, love match and love scam fraud,” he also said.
“We are pursuing them for the time being,” Tengco said, adding that Pagcor shared details of the hubs’ identities and locations with law enforcement agencies so appropriate actions can be taken against the illegal POGOs.
With reforms implemented late last year, the number of overseas gaming licensees fell from 298 POGOs in 2023 to just 43 internet gaming licensees (IGLs) with active licenses today.
To distinguish legitimate operators from illegal POGOs, Pagcor now refers to its overseas gaming operators as IGLs.
POGO APPLICATIONS
Sen. Imee Marcos said it would be best if Pagcor stops processing the applications of new POGOs/IGLs while the government is still assessing if it will allow its continued operations or not.
“Para sa akin ihinto na muna yung processing of applications habang nagre-review. Ang akin lang, sinasabi na i-suspend kasi pag-aralan nating maigi, alamin natin kung ano yung kailangan baguhin at kung kakayanin, ituloy pagtapos ng assessment and review kung kakayanin (For me, it is best to stop the processing of applications while we are reviewing it. I am saying that we suspend so we can study well, determine what needs to be changed and if they are feasible, and then continue with the assessment and review if possible),” Marcos said at the sidelines of the 18th Manila Food and Beverage Expo (MAFBEX) at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
If it turns out that the government cannot regulate POGO operations, Marcos said its operations should be immediately stopped, just like what happened to “e-sabong.”
Marcos said that PAGCOR has consistently said that the government is earning from the taxes paid by POGOs but its operations need to be regulated to prevent industry-related crimes from happening.
She also reiterated that the problems caused by POGOs to the country overshadow the economic benefits derived from them.
For his part, Sen. Joel Villanueva made an “impassioned appeal” to the President to put his foot down and ban POGOs.
“It is high time that our government take a firm stand on this. Let’s kick these POGOs out once and for all. Let’s celebrate our independence by declaring out country free from the shackles of gambling and all its adverse effects,” Villanueva said.
Although the number of licensed POGO/IGL operators have decreased, he said unlicensed ones continue to proliferate and industry-related crimes also continue to rise.
At the House of Representatives, Speaker Martin Romualdez said the House leadership remains open to hearing “all issues concerning POGOs” before deciding if it will support the bill seeking to ban it in the country.
“Alam mo naman may proseso. Dadaan din ‘yan sa proseso, sa hearings. Papakinggan natin lahat ng stakeholders kung ano ang posisyon nila rito, at doon natin iti-timbang kung ano ang dapat natin gawin (You know, there is a process. That will also go through the process, the hearings. We will listen to all stakeholders to know their positions on the issue and then we will weigh it to know what we should do),” he told reporters.
“Basta dapat lahat ng stakeholders dyan sumunod sa batas at sa mga lumalabag sa batas, lagot kayo sa ating law enforcers. ‘Yung mga bawal ang ginagawa ninyo, talagang huhulihin kayo (All the stakeholders must obey the law and those who break the law, you will answer to our law enforcers. Those who do illegal activities will be arrested),” he added.
The House Committee on Games and Amusement, chaired by Cavite Rep. Antonio Ferrer last February approved House Bill (HB) No. 5082 and House Resolution No. (HR) 1197, measures that seek to ban POGOs and declare its operations illegal.
HR 1197 author Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan de Oro, 2nd District) explained that his call to ban POGOs in the country is based on Article II, Section 5 of the Constitution which provide that “the maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty and property, and the promotion of the general welfare are essential to the enjoyment by the people of the blessings of a democracy.”
Rodriguez cited PNP data showing 4,039 victims of POGO-related crimes were recorded in the first six months of 2023.
The consolidated version of the bill will still have to be voted upon in the plenary.
Last Tuesday, militant lawmakers filed their own bill seeking to prohibit and criminalize the operations of POGOs in the country, saying it has “increasingly become a social menace and a source of unimaginable corruption” by mocking Philippine laws against money laundering, immigration violations, tax evasion, and other criminal offenses.
IGLs
Tengco cautioned Congress against banning IGLs/legal POGOs, saying this would only push legitimate operators to go underground, and subsequently, complicate monitoring efforts and swell the ranks of illegal operators.
“If this happens, it would become harder for us to monitor them, and the number of illegal operators would grow and pose a bigger headache to our law enforcement authorities,” Tengco said.
“On top of these, the government will lose potential revenues of more than P20 billion annually, without any guarantee that illegal activities will stop,” he added.
Tengco said it is very likely that when legitimate operators are banned, they will simply hide and vanish, bringing with them their gaming equipment like computers and machines and simply continue to operate without government monitoring and supervision.
“We have no guarantee that, once we ban the legitimate operators, they will simply close shop and return to their countries of origin where they are likely to face prosecution and jail, or worse,” he said.
“So they will just go underground here in the Philippines and continue operating. Worse, they could join those who are engaged in illegal activities like scamming, hacking and other cyber crimes, which would cause bigger problems to us. Once they are underground, we lose control over them,” he added.
PORAC POGO
Meanwhile, the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PAOCC) said it is continuing to search the buildings within the premises of the Lucky South 99 as of yesterday.
PAOCC spokesman Winston John Casio said they have already searched 29 out of the 45 buildings over the past six days.
“We are now on the 30th building,” said Casio, adding that they were given 10 days by the court to search the property. “We will try our very best (to complete the search in 10 days),” he said.
Casio said they will request for an extension if they feel they cannot accomplish the mission during the prescribed period.
Among the items so far found at the POGO hub were several sets of Chinese military uniforms.
Because of this, the Armed Forces has joined the probe to determine if these are legitimate Chinese military uniforms though it said these are likely used in “illicit online transactions.”
Casio said they also found traces of blood at three rooms.
“Remember that the search warrant was granted on the basis of allegations of torture, kidnapping and the like inside the Lucky South 99,” said Casio.
Casio said they are also going to apply for a cyber warrant to examine the thousands of digital devices at the POGO hub.
Criminal charges will be filed against the incorporators, officers and other people involved in the hub’s operations once the search is over.
“Actually, right now, we already strong evidence to support our cases,” said Casio.
Casio said the instruction of the PAOCC chairman, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, is to “build a solid, airtight cases.”
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said authorities also found large safety vaults at the hub. She said, however, that they are not yet aware as to the vaults’ content because they have yet to open them.
Fajardo said no one had been arrested during the raid.
“As of now, we have not arrested any (suspect) but based on our coordination with the PAOCC, it was established that four of those rescued are kidnap victims,” said Fajardo. — With Angela Celis, Raymond Africa and Wendell Vigilia
