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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Lawmakers want to penalize property owners who host POGO operations

Lawmakers want to penalize property owners who host POGO operations

Published Jun 9, 2025 02:51 pm

At A Glance

  • Owners of buildings and other properties found hosting the illegal operations of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) should also be held accountable for violating the President's order banning such activities.
​Owners of buildings and other properties found hosting the illegal operations of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) should also be held accountable for violating the President's order banning such activities.
Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez on Monday, June 9, made the call, as he said that owners leasing properties should at the very least know who or what type of business was renting to them.
"There should be responsibility on their part as well 'di ba?" Fernandez, chairman of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, told Philippine National Police (PNP) and Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) officials during the House quad-committee (quad-comm) hearing.
Fernandez recalled the recent raids conducted at a resort on Alabat Island, Quezon; at a commercial building on Ayala Avenue in Makati City; and at a Pasay City Hotel. He said more than 200 Chinese nationals were arrested and taken into custody following these raids.
"Kung hindi natin lalagyan ng penalty itong mga owners, most likely dadami talaga 'yan (If we don’t impose penalties on these owners, the situation will most likely escalate)," he said.
"Kailangan maging accountable din ‘yung mga may-ari ng properties dahil nga kaso nga hindi naman po ganun kadali na may darating na 188 na Chinese nationals tapos hindi mo alam kung anong i-ooperate sa building mo. Dapat po meron silang culpability as well," he added.
(Property owners also need to be held accountable because it's not that simple for 188 Chinese nationals to arrive, and you don’t even know what will be operated in your building. They should bear responsibility as well.)
According to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation Group, none of the property lessors where the raids were conducted has been charged.
But Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Executive Director Gilbert Cruz said they were considering the inclusion of property owners in criminal cases, together with POGO operators and personnel.
“We already did this in the case of the Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga POGOs,” he said.
'Arrest them'
Meanwhile, Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, lead chairman of the House quad-comm, asked concerned agencies to look for and arrest POGO workers who have no legal documents to stay in the country and are still on the loose.
His call came after Cruz disclosed that about 9,000 former POGO workers remain in the Philippines.
“To quote Usec Cruz, these foreigners are now ‘pakalat-kalat". (on the loose) You, the concerned agencies should be proactive, wag tutulog-tulog (don't sleep on it). This matter involves national security because these foreigners may now either be criminals or spies. For all you know, one of them is your neighbor,” Barbers said.
In mid-2024, President Marcos ordered the ban on POGO. But up to now, there is still no "central database" of POGO workers, so their whereabouts cannot be determined.
Even the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which issued working permits to at least 15,000 POGO workers, does not know their whereabouts.
“If we do not know how many POGO workers have entered the country and where are they located, how can we monitor their activities?” Barbers asked.
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