Critics are hoping that the Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators or POGOs, estimated to be around 300 in number and which are believed to be a haven for such crimes as illegal gambling, gun-running, prostitution, online scams, and drug distribution will soon be a thing of the past.
An unknown number of POGOs are said to be run by foreign syndicates, mostly Chinese.
The Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said last week that the syndicates running illicit POGOs – which are incidentally banned from operating in China — “are trying to get out of the Philippines via Puerto Princesa, via Davao, Zamboanga and Cebu.”
PAOCC spokesman Winston Casio said the bosses of the syndicates “have no valid passports.” Thus, they cannot exit the country legally as they never entered the Philippines legitimately in the first place.
Last month, prior to a government raid on a POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga, an unknown number of foreigners believed to be its workers were able to leave the country, raising the spectre of a possible leak from the ranks of authorities targeting illegal operations.
Last week, for example, one of the managers of that Porac POGO was apprehended in Davao City as she was attempting to buy a ticket out of the country.
She was initially identified only as a “Chinese woman.” It was not clear why her name was not released to the public.
Compounding the problem for the government is that there are a number of POGOs operating legally, while there are also others which registered under the pretext of being BPOs or business process outsourcing companies, also known as call centers.
Because of the easy money made by the POGOs, they have sprouted all over the archipelago, when initially they operated out of Metro Manila.
The legitimate POGOs are under the administration of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp, whose CEO Alejandro Tengco said “a former high-ranking government official” had been trying to facilitate the granting of licenses” to previously raided and shuttered POGOs.
Tengco said he would identify the former official at a later date and at the proper forum.
Some small POGOs operating illegally have been shut down and their mostly Chinese executives and employees deported.
A POGO compound in Bamban, Tarlac — said to be the biggest in the country – was recently raided by authorities after the owner of the property where the facility stood was identified to be Bamban Mayor Alice Leal Guo, now tagged as a Chinese national.
With Guo the subject of an ongoing Senate investigation, executives and employees of the Bamban POGO hub have been trying to quietly leave the country through various channels.
Casio said they have been getting death threats, which he described as “nerve wracking and chilling.”
POGOs became popular in the Philippines during the COVID-19 shutdowns, with the full backing of the Duterte regime. They were said to guarantee billions of pesos in income for such industries as real estate rentals, consumer goods, food outlets, and employment for Filipinos.
Last year, however, the government said a number of POGOs which were operating under the previous administration were able to flee, leaving behind P2.2 billion in dues.
Various Cabinet secretaries, as well as majority and minority senators and congressmen/women have backed calls for the immediate closure of all POGOs in the country, while others have sought a two-year phase out period for the online gaming operations.
