PAOCC: Criminals have easy access to fake IDs, documents
THE Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) yesterday said the Philippines has become a “playground” for the criminal activities of syndicates who have been using illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) as their cover.
During Tuesday’s hearing of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means on proposals to outlaw POGOs, PAOCC chief Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz told senators that criminal syndicates have found it easy to operate in the Philippines because “illegal activities are readily available in the country.”
Cruz said syndicate members have easy access to documents to change their identities, and have “contacts” in government offices to help them elude arrest and even in courts to get favorable decisions once they are sued.
“They’re looking for a place to continue their illegal activities and they found the Philippines as their playground, because (the) things that they need to continue their illegal activities are available here,” Cruz said.
Cruz said PAOCC has raided 12 illegal POGO hubs from September 16, 2022 to June 4, 2024.
During their investigations, he said they have discovered that several fugitives, most of them Chinese nationals, have been repeatedly involved in the operation of different scams.
He said these fugitives were able to assume different identities while working in scam centers which are hiding behind legitimate offshore gaming facilities.
“They have assumed identities. They have driver’s licenses, PhilHealth cards, passports,” he said, adding: “Kaya tayo ang pinupuntahan because they can get what they want here. Naaayos pa nila kapag may problema sila sa batas. Nakuha nila ang weakness ng mga Pilipino (They come to the Philippines because they can get what they want here. They have also learned how to deal with the law. They are taking advantage of the weaknesses of Filipinos).”
SIM CARDS
Aside from fake identities and documents, Cruz said the availability of pre-registered SIM cards are also one of the reasons why fugitive foreigners have opted to stay in the country.
He said pre-registered SIM cards are a “common denominator” in the operations of illegal POGOs and other online gaming companies.
“Because there still exists pre-registered SIM Cards… They can even contact a group of creators para gumawa ng (to make) thousands of SIM cards,” he said.
Cruz said that “unless we solve these problems, hindi mawawala anf problema natin sa POGOs (our problems with illegal POGOs will not be solved).”
“Dapat maghigpit din tayo sa pag-isyu ng government IDs (We should be stricter in issuing government IDs). The Philippines is really a playground now for scamming and other illegal activities,” Cruz said.
Cruz also said criminal syndicates have decided to stop getting the services of Filipinos in their illegal activities on suspicions that their Filipino fronts tip them off to Philippine authorities.
Instead, he said, the syndicates allegedly “import” retired military and police officers from their country to spearhead their operations in the country.
Cruz did not elaborate on his statement.
It could be recalled that authorities recovered a number of Chinese military uniforms during their raid of one of the illegal POGO hubs.
CRAKCDOWN
Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who is the committee chairperson, said law enforcers should conduct an intensified crackdown against groups manufacturing fake birth certificates.
In a statement, Hontiveros said: “Uncovering thousands of fake identities is a clear threat to public order and national security. Our recent legislative inquiries into POGOs have already revealed that criminal groups use fake Filipino citizenship to carry out their illicit activities.”
She said foreigners having fake Filipino identities can easily buy real estate properties, and “perhaps even have the audacity to run for public office” as what “has been done before.”
She said authorities should dig deeper into the incident in Sta. CVruz town in Davao del Sur where 1,200 foreigners, believed to be mostly Chinese, were able to obtain Filipino birth certificates through late registration.
“We must crack down on Filipinos who have made this possible,” she said.
Gatchalian said measures have to be put in place so the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) can impose stricter regulations in the issuance of birth certificates through the late registration system.
He said the fight against fake Philippine documents should be addressed through a whole of government approach to put an end to the vicious cycle.
ONLINE GAMING
Gatchalian, in an interview after the hearing, said almost 90 percent of the invited resource persons during yesterday’s hearing backed the proposal to ban POGOs due to the crimes associated with the industry.
“Ang pinaka-importanteng comment ay galing sa DOF. Dahil sa kanilang study walang benefit na binibigay ang POGO sa ating ekonomiya. In fact, negative pa nga because of the negative perception at masamang imahe natin (The most important comment came from the Department of Finance. Based on its study, there are no economic benefits from POGO. In fact, it is negative, because of the negative perception and the bad image it is giving to our country),” Gatchalian said.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation said it is against the total banning of online gaming because the government stands to lose around P40 billion annually if the proposal is passed into law.
Pagcor chairman Alejandro Tengco said: “With the trend in the first six months and with unregistered companies now coming forward and willing to register, Pagcor stands to lose… a minimum of P40 billion if this law that is being proposed will be passed.”
“In these difficult times that everyone is facing today, I believe P40 billion is a big amount if we forego of that set amount,” he added.
Tengco said Pagcor first gave a license to Phil Web to operate online gaming on March 31, 2004, but bettors have to go to a betting station to place their bets.
He said Pagcor expanded the online gaming operations after it gave Kissner Games International a license to operate mobile and wireless games on January 17, 2006.
To be able to expand its international link products, Tengco said Pagcor entered into an agreement with the Interactive Entertainment Solutions on March 30, 2009.
“So, that was when online gaming started,” he said.
Tengco said that during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, illegal online gaming proliferated, which expanded to what is called the “gray market.”
He said that to neutralize the gray market, the old Pagcor Board decided to regulate the online gaming industry by coming out with guidelines to entice online gaming companies to register.
He said that when he assumed as Pagcor chairman in August 2022, “the fi rst thing I did was look into the regulatory frameworks that were setup” due to the numerous complaints on the proliferation of illegal betting sites which duped customers.
“We saw that there were many ‘fly by night’ operators, and that being the case, the first thing that we did, to eliminate the fly by night, was to increase the financial requirements, non-refundable applications fees from P1 million to P5 million. We increased the performance deposit from then P5 million to P50 million. We then increased the capitalization from P25 million to P100 million,” Tengco said.
He said Pagcor also streamlined the application process but required the companies to “divulge the beneficial owners because most of them were lawyers and incorporators that we didn’t know.”
“Because of the regulation and strict implementation of the frameworks in place, we would have captured close to about 55 to 60 percent of the entire market. So, up to the end of 2024, I believe that there is still about anywhere between 30 to 40 percent of the business being controlled by the gray market,” he said.
He said three big companies involved in illegal online gaming operations or which were not registered prior to the implementation of the strict measures, have surfaced “and have manifested that they already want to be registered.”
“If the trend continues, we’re expecting to gain from the online gaming market about anywhere between P35 to P42 billion from license fees. And this will translate to about close to 40 percent of the current revenues of Pagcor,” he added.
In a chance interview after the hearing, Tengco said banning online gaming would only benefit the gray market.
He said the industry should instead be strictly regulated.
“Kung hindi po natin yan ire-regulate, saan po mapupunta yan kundi sa bulsa lamang ng mga nagpapatakbo… Hindi po makikinabang dyan kahit isang sentimo ang gobyerno (If we will not regulate [online gaming], revenues will only go to the pockets of those who run it…The government will not benefit even a single centavo),” he said.
If regulated, Tengco said the online gaming industry can contribute to the government in the form of taxes and licensing fees.
