20 foreigners, two Pinoys nabbed in Parañaque City POGO raid undergo inquest

Twenty foreigners and two Filipinos who were arrested during a raid of a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Parañaque City last February 20 have already undergone inquest proceedings for qualified human trafficking charges.

According to Saleema Refran’s report in “24 Oras” on Monday, among the foreigners who are facing human trafficking complaints is the boss of the POGO hub.

“Pinangakuan silang trabaho just for customer service representative, but it turned out na hindi pang-customer service representative kung hindi pang-POGO, scamming,” said PNP CIDG-NCR chief Police Colonel Marlon Quimno.

(They were promised to work as customer service representatives. But it turned out that they worked for a POGO and were scamming people.)

“Sila'y nag-facilitate ng mga nagtatrabaho dito sa POGO hub na ito para mag-work ng matagal. Wala namang kaukulang mga papeles. Puro illegal ang ginagawa nila dito sa loob ng POGO hub na ito,” said Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) executive director Gilbert Cruz.

(They were the ones who were facilitating the workers in the POGO hub. There were no proper documents and everything they do here in the POGO hub is illegal.)

Three Vietnamese citizens and one Filipino woman serve as the complainants and testified on the alleged love scam scheme.

“Itong mga Vietnamese na ito, ito yung mga models na ginagamit nila na nga-attract ng mga investors. After na ma-in love ka, ayun na, yayayain ka nila na mag-invest na sa cryptocurrency,” said Cruz.

(These Vietnamese served as the models to attract the investors. After their victims fall in love with them, they will convince them to invest in cryptocurrency.)

On the other hand, over 300 Filipino employees were already released but  are being investigated for conducting sports betting for Indians.

The Indian Embassy is already coordinating with the local authorities to check on the confiscated items during the raid.

“Ngayon kasi kinukuha pa namin yung mga laman nitong mga ito at titignan natin kung sino-sino doon sa mga nationalities nila yung mga na-scam,” said Cruz.

(We are still retrieving the files inside and we will also look at the nationalities that they scammed.) 

The PAOCC also flagged that  some foreign employees who availed of voluntary deportation managed to escape in their layovers.

The Chinese Embassy was the one who coordinated with Philippine officials to arrest these individuals. 

“Huwag sanang hahayaan na maglabas ng implementation order kapag ang ticket ng foreign national na magvo-voluntary deportation o ‘di kaya may deportation order ay mayroong layover…Ginagamit po nilang pagkakataon 'yan para tumakas,” said PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio. 

(I hope they will not issue an implementation order if the ticket of the foreign national, who availed of the voluntary deportation or someone who has a deportation order, has a layover… As they will use it as a chance to escape.) 

The Bureau of Immigration, on the other hand, is prioritizing the immediate deportation of the arrested foreigners. Hence, they book whatever flights are already available. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News