Foreigners from Pampanga POGO hub found in gated Cebu compound

Some 150 foreigners, including individuals believed to have been part of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub raided in Pampanga, were found by authorities in a gated compound in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

Authorities said the foreigners were from China, Indonesia, and Myanmar. They were found after Indonesians who escaped from the compound alerted their embassy in the Philippines.

“Most of these foreign nationals actually escaped from Pampanga. So after our raid in Pampanga, ‘yung mga (their) managers nila, ‘yung mga (their)  owners nila, they were brought here according to their stories,”  Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Director Winston  Casio said in a report by Nikko Sereno on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on  Sunday.

“This is 100% an illegal POGO. Illegal po ito kasi  wala pong POGO na may lisensya dito sa Cebu province, zero. So illegal  na po ito (It is illegal because there are no licensed POGOs here in  Cebu province, zero),” he added.

The gated compound was reported to have some 10 buildings, a swimming pool, a restaurant, and other facilities.

Casio said the evidence gathered — including computers and other gadgets — in the Cebu operation would be enough to file cases, including cybercrime-related gambling, and cybercrime-related qualified trafficking. Authorities are now looking into the contents of the gadgets.

“The Indonesian Embassy requested our director,  Director Jaime Santiago, for investigative assistance to rescue their citizens who were allegedly being held against their will,” National  Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Region 7 Director Atty. Rennan Oliva said in the same report.

“At least six Indonesian nationals had requested for a rescue. We discovered more foreign nationals,  particularly Indonesians and those from Myanmar, as well as Chinese nationals,” he added.

The PAOCC also found five Filipino managers and administrators in the compound.

A minor was also rescued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) during the operation.

“’Yung minor na na-interview namin, pupunta lang siya dito just to teach one of the guests dito, to teach her parang dancing lessons (The minor we interviewed just went here to give one of the guests here dancing lessons),” social welfare officer Emma Patalinghug said.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., in his third state of the nation address (SONA) in July, announced the ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming  Operators (POGOs) and ordered the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to wind down and stop all operations by the end of the year.

A cost-benefit analysis by the Department of Finance (DOF) showed that the POGO industry had a net cost of P99.52 billion to the Philippines,  equivalent to 0.41% of the country’s economy as of 2021. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA Integrated News