PAOCC: Gov't spending millions for deportation, care of arrested POGO workers

The government is spending millions of pesos for the deportation and care of the arrested Chinese workers of a Pasay City-based Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub that was raided months ago, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said Thursday.

Interviewed by reporters, PAOCC Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said they are currently processing the deportation of around 180 Chinese workers arrested during the October raid for having no proper immigration documents.

"Kasi hindi naman po natin puwedeng pabayaan yung karapatan nila bilang tao. So kailangan pakainin mo sila, bigay mo sa kanila 'yung mga dapat na ibigay. Kung may mga sakit po sila, pinapadala po natin sa ospital. Even po yung mga ganito po, 'yung pag papa-deport sa kanila, tayo rin po ang gumagastos," the official said.

(Because we can't neglect their human rights. So we need to feed them and give them their basic needs. If they are sick, we send them to the hospital. Even for their deportations, we are the ones spending for it.)

Cruz, however, could not give an estimated amount of the expenditure as the deportation process was ongoing. But asked if the amount reaches millions, he said, "Yes."

Agents from PAOCC and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) raided the POGO hub in late October where they found an "aquarium" or an area where victims of prostitution — including Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Filipino women — waited to be "selected" by customers.

Authorities also discovered various torture devices inside a room, including heavy-duty tasers, airsoft guns, baseball bats, and a wooden club. Also seen were several handcuffs attached to a metal bar on a wall.

According to Cruz, the 180 individuals failed to present their working visas. He said this is also the biggest batch to be deported so far.

"Naka-blacklist na sila, 'no? Hindi na sila puwedeng bumalik dito. At sa China naman, siyempre, kakasuhan din sila doon. And nakikipagtulungan naman 'yung embahada ng China doon sa atin para sa mga kasong ifa-file,” he said.

(They are blacklisted. They can no longer return to the Philippines. And they will also be charged in China. The Chinese Embassy is coordinating with us for the cases to be filed.)

The individuals were escorted by numerous police officers to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 for their flight.

Cruz said this was because of previous experiences where those they were seeking to deport created scenarios that would prevent their deportation. 

“Actually nung last time, merong insidente na nasa loob na kami ng airport. Nagpanggap na nahimatay itong dalawa sa mga pasahero namin para hindi mai-deport,” he said in a separate interview.

(Last time, there was an incident inside the airport. Two of our passengers pretended to faint so they would not be deported.)

“’Yung isa naging successful siya dahil sinabi ng airline agency na ano, wag papasukin sa loob dahil bakit ganon, hinimatay baka raw may sakit. At nung dinala na namin siya doon sa kanilang tinutuluyan, eh nakalakad naman. So sa madaling salita, umaarte lang ito,” he added.

(One of them succeeded because the airline agency said they should not go in. They questioned why they fainted and if they were sick. When we brought him back, he was able to walk. In other words, he was just faking it.)

Cruz said that those who were not deported were the alleged masterminds, those allegedly involved in the torture of their employees, and the alleged managers in the online scams with pending complaints.

The PAOCC official said they are seeking to file more complaints after more victims came out to share their stories.

"For a while kasi 'yung iba talagang tahimik. Akala nila is walang mangyayari. Ngayon, nung laman nilang seryoso tayo sa ginagawa natin, medyo nag lakas ng loob o lumakas ‘yung loob nung ibang mga naging biktima," Cruz said.

(For a while some of them were silent. They thought nothing would happen. Now, when they realized that we were serious in what we were doing, some of the victims gained courage.)

"So we're looking at more or less mga 25 pa ‘yung fa-file-an natin ng kaso," he added.

The 180 who will be deported within the day composed the first batch, with more deportations expected to follow, Cruz said.  —KBK, GMA Integrated News