PAOCC: As legal POGOs wind down, underground operations still prevalent

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission said Tuesday that illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) are still prolific nationwide despite the directive issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to close all operations by the end of the year.

In a public briefing on Tuesday, PAOCC Spokesperson Winston Casio said there could be more than 100 illegal POGO hubs still operating underground all over the country.

“Ang problema talaga natin ay yung mga illegal talaga from the get-go. Yung sa umpisa palang illegal na talaga sila, underground na po sila. Yun yung nagiging problema ngayon sapagkat hinahabol po natin sila all over the country… Kasi yung dating malalaki na daan-daan, ‘yung libo ang mga empleyado, nag disintegrate sila into smaller units kaya mas lalo silang dumami,” he said.

(Our real problem are the ones that have been illegal from the get-go. The ones from the start that are illegal have gone underground. These are what we’re having a problem now because we are chasing them all over the country…  So the formerly large operations with hundreds, thousands of employees have now disintegrated into smaller units so there are more of them now.)

Casio said going after illegal POGOs requires a “whole of government approach” that involves several different agencies in the executive branch, and that the support of the community is necessary to locate and close the illegal operations.

“Yung hamon talaga ay napakaraming nag underground. There are a good number of them and we’re having difficulty catching up. If assuming lang po na may matira after December 31, magtutuloy-tuloy pa rin ang mandato ng task force na kinabibilangan namin… Assuming may matira pa beyond December, we’ll still go after them and close them down,” he said.

(The challenge is that so many that have gone underground. There are a good number of them and we’re having difficulty catching up. If assuming that there are some left after December 31, we will continue with the mandate of the task force we are part of… Assuming that there will be some left after December, we’ll still go after them and close them down.)

Last week, authorities arrested Lyu Dong, an alleged "big boss" of the Lucky South 99 that operated the POGO in Porac, Pampanga and the supposed 'kingpin' responsible for the proliferation of many illegal POGOs and scam farms in the country.

Meanwhile, Casio said legal Internet Gaming Licenses (IGLs) and POGOs are currently “winding down” in numbers and are complying with Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) requirements and President Marcos’ order to close their operations by the end of the year. —RF, GMA Integrated News