ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 15 children of deported foreign POGO workers seek help from gov't—PAOCC

15 children of deported foreign POGO workers seek help from gov't—PAOCC

Published Dec 1, 2024 01:06 pm

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) has revealed that they are now supporting 15 young children, who are mostly infants and toddlers, after their foreign fathers got deported for working at illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hubs in the country.

Gilbert Cruz PAOCC.jpg
PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz

PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz disclosed that their mothers sought help from them for their children's basic needs such as milk and diapers.

"Meron kaming alaga ngayon na labinlimang bata. Na itong labinlimang bata na ‘to mga anak ito nung mga dating POGO workers na pina-deport natin (We now have under our care 15 children. These are the children of former POGO workers who were deported)," Cruz said in an interview over  Super Radyo dzBB on Sunday, Dec. 1.

"So, every week, pumupunta sa amin ‘yan, humihingi ng pang-gatas, pang-pampers, minsan yung iba pambayad pa ng apartment nila (So every week, they come to us, asking for money to buy milk, diapers, and sometimes even for their rent)," Cruz added.

The PAOCC official said they cannot deny them assistance as they were the "collateral damage" in the massive illegal operations of POGO in the country, which have been put on total ban by President Marcos.

"Hindi naman natin pwedeng tanggihan 'yan kasi nga sila ay naging collateral damage o naging problema sila na binunga nitong illegal POGO operations dito sa atin (We cannot ignore them because they were the collateral damage caused by these illegal POGO operations here)," Cruz said.

According to Cruz, the children's ages range from one to three years old.

In order to sustain the support given to the kids, Cruz said they have coordinated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

"Nakakalungkot lang na pati yung mga ganitong problema, pati bata nadadamay na rin (It's saddening that issues like this arise, even the children suffer)," he said.

"Yung tatay hindi na nila mahabol, not unless hahanapin pa ng tatay o may contact yung pamilya o yung nanay. Ang problema yung wala na at yung tinakbuhan na (They can no longer go after the father, not unless they have contact with them. The problem is those who have already ran away)," he added.

Cruz further said three Vietnamese. who are working in a POGO hub, have also reached out to them and sought the PAOCC's help to get them deported.

At present, there are close to 700 detained at the PAOCCs temporary detention centers. Some of them are facing cases, while some are witnesses or for deportation. Cruz said there close to 250 foreign nationals who are up for deportation soon.

Meanwhile, there are still at least 200 POGO hubs currently operating in the country despite the crackdown. These hubs will be raided if they will not cease their operations until Dec. 31. 

Related Tags

POGO workers PAOCC POGO
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.