DAVAO CITY – Fifty-nine workers of an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub were arrested during a raid in a warehouse in Purok 6 New Malitbog, Barangay Manay, Panabo City, Davao del Norte before dawn on Friday, Dec. 6.
AN illegal POGO hub was raided in Panabo City on Dec. 6. Fifty-nine workers were rescued. (Photo from PTV FB page)
In a press conference, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-Davao spokesperson Ely Leano said that the arrested persons were 55 Chinese, three Malaysians, and one Filipino.
Leano said the arrested workers were believed to be “remnants” of the illegal POGO hubs in Luzon following their closure and established another POGO hub in the province. “It cannot be denied that there are POGO hubs in the region,” he said.
The POGO, operating for only three months, was allegedly owned by a Chinese firm, Jinsheng International.
The arrested workers came from Manila, Leano said.
Leano said that the NBI-Davao was notified by its central office that a Malaysian national, identified only as Ruby Lim, a POGO worker in Manila, sought help from authorities after she was abducted and held captive inside a POGO hub in a warehouse in Panabo.
A three-day surveillance was conducted during which operatives noticed some Chinese nationals going in and out of the warehouse.
Leano said the warehouse used to be a storage facility for agricultural inputs owned by a Filipino businessman. He said that a subpoena would be issued to the warehouse owner.
NBI-Davao Director Archie Albao said that Lim gave the ”exact location” of the POGO hub to the NBI Central Office.
Lim was not found in the warehouse as workers said she was taken to another place, boarding one of the two vehicles that left the compound just before the raid.
Last Nov. 5, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order No. 74 imposing an “immediate ban on offshore and internet gaming in the Philippines.”
The order stated that “all POGOs/IGLs and other offshore gaming operations and other offshore gaming-related/auxiliary/ancillary services with issued licenses, permits are expected to completely cease operations, including the winding up of their affairs, on Dec. 31, 2024 or earlier.”
He said that a pursuit operation is ongoing to rescue Lim and arrest other POGO workers. “If there is a worker who refuses to cooperate, they will inflict harm on you. They will be tortured. This Ruby Lim wanted to escape but she managed to send messages to authorities,” he added.
Items seized from the warehouse were 60 computers and over 100 mobile phones, several packs of Chinese cigarette brands, passports and identification cards, firearms and ammunition, handcuffs, and a broken wooden club.
Authorities will secure a cyber warrant from a trial court to examine the seized mobile phones and computers.