PAOCC hunts down 10,000 POGO workers still in PH
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) is giving itself one year to complete the arrest and deportation of some 9,000 to 10,000 foreign nationals involved in illegal offshore gambling operations in the country.
Dr. Winston John Casio (PTV screenshot)
PAOCC spokesperson Director Winston John Casio said during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing on Friday, Feb. 28, stressed the need to follow President Marcos’ order to eliminate Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country.
The Chief Executive ordered POGOs’ ban during his 2024 State of the Nation Address and gave until Dec. 31 of last year for its workers to voluntarily leave the country as their working visas were revoked.
“So, sa susunod na tanong, mayroon po ba kaming ibinigay na deadline, taning sa aming mga sarili para tuluyan po silang maubos (for the next question, are we giving ourselves a deadline, a deadline to ourselves to eradicate them)? We give ourselves one year,” he said.
He disclosed that Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, as chair of the Technical Working Group against anti-illegal POGO operations, reminds them regularly not to fail the President in his goal to eliminate illegal gambling operations in the country.
“We cannot fail the President. The President gave us a very tall order, but we know that we can do this,” Casio added.
The official explained that of the 32,000 POGO workers that were in the country, more than 20,000 voluntarily left the Philippines when the ban was announced.
Of the remaining 12,000, the PAOCC together with relevant government agencies has already arrested more than 2,000 since January this year. They also have around 800 “wards” awaiting deportation.
This leaves some 9,000 to 10,000 remaining POGO workers now operating in the country illegally.
Since Feb. 13, the commission has been conducting operations nonstop, Casio said, adding that a bulk of their operations happen in southern Metro Manila as this is where gaming hubs are.
The official explained that POGO workers specifically wanted to stay in Pasay City because it is near casinos.
“Dito naman sa Metro Manila nagko-congregate lang po talaga sila dito sa south, kasi alam ninyo po, itong mga (Here in Metro Manila, they congregate here in the south, because you know, these) foreign nationals to be honest with you, sila po ay mga lulong sa sugal (they are addicted to gambling),” Casio said.
The PAOCC official that their two major operations recently were in Pasay City and Parañaque City, near the entertainment hub in Metro Manila.
He refused to categorize them as guerilla types of POGO operators because they operate on a large scale.
The official said that their operations at the sa ATI building in Parañaque had 147 foreign nationals, excluding 300-plus Filipinos, while an operation at the One Wheels condominium near Aseana had 101 foreign nationals.
Another operation against formerly licensed POGO hub Unlad Silangan at the same One Wheels condominium had 401 foreign nationals involved in the “same type of scamming.”
“So medyo nakakabahala, ibig sabihin nito talagang marami pa talaga sila rito. So, tuluy-tuloy lang kami (it’s concerning because it means there are still a lot of them here. So, we will continue), we will strongly and rigorously hunt them, kasi hindi pupuwedeng hindi masunod iyong total banned na in-impose ng ating President (because the total ban imposed by the President must be followed),” Casio stressed.
Currently, the PAOCC is in the process of identifying who among the 401 foreign nationals they arrested from Unlad Silangan will be charged criminally, while others will simply be deported.
“Kinakailangan ho kasing may managot din dito sa kanilang ginawa sa Pilipinas, sapagkat ito ay pambababoy doon sa ban, doon sa intensiyon ng ating Pangulo na malinis na ang Pilipinas magmula sa mga illegal na mga pasugalan katulad nito (There needs to be someone who will be accountable for what they did to the Philippines because this is an insult to the intention of our President to clean the Philippines of illegal gambling like this),” the official stated.
But, he also stressed that, “a bulk of them, the bulk of them will be deported out of the country the soonest possible time.”