The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) admitted that illegal or underground Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) remain to be a problem despite President Marcos’ order to close down all facilities by year’s end.
PAOCC spokesperson Dr. Winston Casio (PTV screenshot)
During the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing on Tuesday, Oct. 15, PAOCC spokesman Dr. Winston Casio said that there could be between 50 and 100 illegal POGOs currently operating underground.
“Now, ang problema talaga natin ay iyong mga iligal talaga iyong from the get go – mula sa simula pa lang iligal na talaga sila, underground na po sila. Iyon po iyong aming nagiging problema ngayon sapagkat hinahabol po natin sila all over the country (Now, the problem are the illegal from the get go—they were illegal, underground from the start. That’s our problem now because we are running after them all over the country),” he added.
The official explained that the crackdown on POGOs led to the proliferation of smaller facilities.
“Kasi iyong dating malalaki na daan-daan, libu-libo iyong mga empleyado ay nag-disintegrate sila into smaller unit kaya mas lalo silang dumami (Because the bigger ones with hundreds, thousands of employees disintegrated into smaller units, so they multiplied even more).”
Noting that legal Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs) are now down to 37 or 38 “because they are complying with the requirement of PAGCOR and the President to really stop all of their operations by the end of the year,” Casio said that the crackdown on POGOs requires a whole-of-government approach.
“So, we need the help of the other agencies of the executive branch together with the help of the LGU (local government unit) and the private sector,” he added.
In July, Marcos ordered a ban on POGOs because of their involvement in criminal activities.
The Chief Executive instructed PAGCOR to “wind down and cease the operation of POGOs by the end of the year.”
Meanwhile, Casio lamented that they were only able to find dismantled computers when they recently raided New Wave Technologies, which they have been monitoring for scamming activities, in Biñan, Laguna.
The facility is supposedly owned by POGO big boss Lin XunHan, who was also being linked to dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo.
“So, nakakalungkot lang, itong tiningnan iyong mga areas, lahat ng mga computers wala na po iyong mga hard drive (So, it’s sad that when we arrived in the areas, the hard drives have been removed from the computers),” the official disclosed.
“Ibig sabihin, malamang iyong mga ebidensiya ng kanilang mga illegal na mga activities ay wala na ho rito at wala na tayong makukuha pa (It means that evidence of their illegal activities have most likely been removed and we will never find them),” he added.
Casio underscored the importance of coordinating with the Biñan City local government unit in the inspection of the said warehouse.
“All we need is the proactive assistance of the different agencies of the executive branch together with the LGU. Kapag nagsama-sama naman po, kakayanin naman ho siguro natin ito (If we work together, we can do this),” he assured.