POGO operations in Paranaque village continued despite ban

A homeowners association (HOA) in Parañaque City on Wednesday said operations of some Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hubs in the gated community allegedly continued despite the ban.

Julio Templonuevo, president of the Multinational Village HOA, said POGO operations in their village were reduced following the pronouncement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

“We think partially may effect pero hindi pa 100% kasi may existence pa,” Templonuevo told Kapihan sa Manila Bay. 

(We think it may have a partial effect, but not 100% yet, because some POGOs are still there.)

“Generally, malaki ang improvement ng pronouncement…Since may government directive, medyo okay na. Malakas na ang loob ng homeowners na magsumbong,” he said. 

(Generally, there's been a significant improvement after the pronouncement...Since the government issued a directive, it's gotten better. Homeowners are now more confident to complain.)

According to Templonuevo, some Chinese previously rented residential units at the Multinational Village to use as POGO structures. Lease payments reached P500,000 per month before but dipped to P200,000 to P300,000 monthly. 

“Ito educated guess, una 'yung location napakalapit dito. Napaka-convenient. 5 minutes nasa airport ka na,” said Templonuevo. 

(This is an educated guess but they might have chosen our village because of our location. It's very convenient, you can be in the airport in five minutes.)

“Napili 'yung sa'min na malaki ang area dahil they can accommodate more people kasi 'yung surrounding namin basically low-cost housing 'yan eh,” he added.

(Our area can also accommodate more people because the surrounding areas have low-cost housing.)

During his third State of the Nation Address, Marcos ordered a ban on all POGOs in the country after a series of raids which revealed equipment used for torture, love scams, and other crimes.

Some 40,000 Filipino employees would be affected by the ban, according to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission. 

In August, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said foreign POGO workers will be given at least 60 days to exit the Philippines.—AOL, GMA Integrated News