Undeniable that POGOs, similar ops in other countries linked —DOJ

An official of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday said that it is undeniable that illegal POGO activities and similar set-ups in other countries are connected.

“So meron talaga...hindi natin maitatanggi na may loose relationship ‘yang mga POGOs na ‘yan,” Justice Undersecretary Nicky Ty said in a press briefing. 

(There is...we can't deny these POGOs have a loose relationship with each other.) 

Ty, the undersecretary-in-charge of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), issued the remark following the second regional meeting of the Southeast Asian National Anti-Trafficking Committees.

He was asked if the committee will discuss the possibility that the syndicates running the POGOs and those running similar operations in other countries may be connected.

“Yes, certainly, titignan natin ‘yun [we will look into that],” Ty said.

“Pero ngayon pa lang naman nakikita na natin no? May mga informant or loose na pakikipag-ugnayan, no. May mga overlapping owners, minsan ‘yung iba may overlapping employees,” he added.

(But we are seeing that already, right? There are informants or loose relationships. There are overlapping owners, and sometimes overlapping employees.)

The meeting was attended by representatives from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Ty said they floated the possibility of joint operations and information sharing to address issues related to POGOs.

“Pinag-uusapan namin kung maari magkaroon ng mga joint operation sa iba’t ibang lugar. Kung pwede tayo magkaroon ng mga information sharing, magkaroon ng mga formal and informal na mga kasunduan sa mga ibang bansa,” he said.

(We are discussing the possibility of joint operations in some area and  If we can have information sharing and formal and informal agreements with other countries.)

Economic progress

According to Ty, the Philippines has evolved from a “source country,” from which Filipinos are trafficked abroad, to a “destination country,” wherein foreigners enter the Philippines to traffic victims into various POGOs.

Ty said that this may be due to the country’s economic progress.

“Dahil nga ilang taon na tayong maganda ang economic development, nagkakaroon  din ng mga… unintended consequence,” Ty said.

(Because our economic development is good, there were unintended consequences.)

“Ang unintended negative consequence niyan ay nagiging destination country na rin tayo kung saan may mga banyaga na pupunta dito upang mag hanapbuhay,” he added.

(The unintended consequence is that we became a destination country where foreigners will go here to make a living [out of trafficking].)

For his part, Justice spokesperson Mico Clavano attributed the increase to POGOs.

“Ano siguro ito, isa din consequence doon sa pag ‘yung palaganap nung POGO at dati pinapayagan natin ‘yung mga POGO mag operate sa Pilipinas,” Clavano said.

(This may be an effect on the proliferation of POGOs and because they were previously allowed in the Philippines.)

“Kaya napaka welcome development po sa IACAT na na-ban na ho finally,” he added.

(That is why it is really a welcome development for the IACAT that POGOs are finally banned.)

POGO deadline

During his third State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. banned all POGOs in the country. He instructed PAGCOR to cease all operations of POGOs by the end of the year.

Foreign workers of POGO hubs are given until today, October 15 to voluntarily downgrade their visas. The Department of Justice said that the 9G visas of these workers will be downgraded to tourist visas starting October 16.

Once their visas are downgraded to tourist visas, the foreigners will be given 59 days to leave the country.

“Expected naman natin na within the period, within the 59-day period ay uuwi na sila sa kani-kanilang bansa,” Ty said.

(We expected them to leave within the 59-day period.)

The DOJ previously warned that foreigners whose visas are forcefully cancelled will be blacklisted. — BM, GMA Integrated News