PH seeks closer link with other countries in fight vs illegal POGOs
The government plans to strengthen cooperation and collaboration with other countries in the fight against illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and related crimes arising from their operations, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Monday, Jan. 15.
DOJ Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic F. Clavano IV said during PTV’s Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon said “ang pinakaimportanteng solusyon or isang approach na napakaganda ay ‘yung international cooperation (the most important solution or approach is international cooperation).”
“So, in 2024, ang plano po ng gobyerno ay palakasin ‘yung cooperation at collaboration sa iba’t ibang mga bansa (the government plans to strengthen cooperation and collaboration with other countries),” he declared.
Clavano explained “itong POGO crimes ay napakalawak and what we realized in 2023 was that talagang may international aspect po ito (the crimes related to POGOs are vast and we realized in 2023 that this has an international aspect).”
“‘Yung POGO may kasamang human trafficking, may kasamang drugs, may kasamang sex trafficking, may kasamang korupsyon at hindi lang lahat nangyayari dito sa Pilipinas (POGO-related crimes include human trafficking, illegal drugs, sex trafficking, corruption and these take place not only in the Philippines),” he cited.
Thus, he said “kailangan natin lumabas ng bansa para mahuli ‘yung talagang nasa likod ng mga krimen na ito (We need to go out of the country to catch those behind these crimes).”
He said the Philippines has been engaged in regular dialogue with other countries. One of these is the annual Manila International Dialogue on Human Trafficking, he also said.
“As a result nagkakaroon ng magandang perspective ang Pilipinas kung paano natin itatrato itong mga krimen na ito (we got better perspectives in the Philippines on how to treat these crimes),” he added.