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PAOCC asks NBI to 'tweak policy' in deporting foreign POGO workers
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) has requested the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to tweak its policy on issuing clearance for foreign workers of the now defunct Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO).
“Unfortunately, may policy ang NBI na before they can provide an NBI clearance, 'yung mga potential deportee kinakailangang i-present ang copy ng kanilang passport,” said PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.
(Unfortunately, the NBI has a policy that before they can provide an NBI clearance, potential deportees should present a copy of their passports.)
“That becomes a problem dahil karamihan sa kanila, 'yung kanilang passport ay kinukuha ng kumpanya,” the PAOCC official said.
(The passports of most of them were taken by their companies.)
PAOCC's request to the NBI comes after Senator Raffy Tulfo raised concern over the delayed deportation of foreign POGO workers.
Bureau of Immigration legal department chief Arvin Santos explained that there were requirements like passport, clearance from the NBI, and plane tickets before the foreign workers could be deported.
With this, Casio said the PAOCC requested the NBI to tweak its policy in issuing clearances for deportees.
“Nag-request kami sa NBI na tanggalin ang policy na 'yun at hayaan na lang na 'yung document na galing sa Immigration —'yung entry record ng mga deportee from the BI— ang magsilbing proof of identity nila,” the PAOCC official said.
(We already requested the NBI to remove that policy and let the document for the Immigration —the entry records of deportees from the BI— to serve as proof of their identities.)
“Sinulatan na namin sila [NBI] and we believe na magiging positive naman 'yun… Nag-request kami na kung pwede, tanggalin ang requirement na 'yun para mapabilis ang deportation,” Casio said.
(We’ve already sent them a letter and we believe that the response to our request will be positive… We’ve requested to remove that requirement to hasten the deportation.)
During the Senate hearing, BI’s Santos had disclosed that only 22,609 of the 33,864 foreign POGO workers had left the country as of December 31, 2024.
Tulfo had raised an alarm on this, noting that thousands of foreign individuals who formerly worked for POGOs are still in the country and might be staying here to work in illegal offshore gaming operations.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in July last year banned all POGOs after several such businesses were implicated in crimes, including human trafficking, serious illegal detention, and money scams.
In November 2024, Marcos issued Executive Order 74, which states that the ban on POGOs and internet gaming licenses shall encompass illegal offshore gaming operations, license applications, license renewals, and cessation of operations.
—VAL, GMA Integrated News
