BI deports 35 Indonesians nabbed in Cebu POGO hub raid

At least 35 Indonesians apprehended for allegedly working in an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) hub in Cebu province were deported by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

According to the BI, the deportees —  who were part of the over 100 foreigner POGO workers nabbed during an August 31 raid in Lapu-Lapu City — boarded outbound flights at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on Tuesday, October 22.

Of the 35 arrested, 26 were male and nine were female. They were mostly aged 20 to 30. The foreign workers were included in the BI blacklist following deportation.

"The arrest and subsequent deportation of these foreign nationals send a strong message that illegal online gambling operations will not be tolerated," BI Commissioner Joel Viado.

"We remain committed to upholding the President’s directive to ban such activities, and we will continue to work closely with other government agencies to ensure that those involved in illegal operations are brought to justice,” Viado said.

In August, a cease and desist order was issued against a hotel in Barangay Agus, Lapu-Lapu City used purportedly as a POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations) hub and around 150 foreign POGO workers were apprehended.

Mayor Junard Chan said that he has not allowed any POGO hub in Lapu-Lapu City, although there was one application he received prior to the declaration of President Marcos, Jr. on the total ban of POGO hubs in the country. — BAP, GMA Integrated News