NBI eyes upper floor search on raided POGO hub

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is already geared up to conduct a follow-up search on a three-story building in Makati City that housed an illegal clinic catering to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) workers.

NBI director Jaime Santiago said they only had a search warrant for the ground floor during the initial raid, where they discovered a functioning clinic operating under a pharmacy license.

The clinic primarily served Chinese and Vietnamese patients.

“We were initially under the impression that the upper floors were solely used for storing medicines,” Santiago said on Sunday. “However, our agents were unable to access the third floor during the raid.”

The NBI has coordinated with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and plans to revisit the site on Monday, as Santiago clarified that they can utilize their visitation authority to gain access to the upper floors.

To recall, the raided clinic — located in Barangay San Isidro, Makati — is suspected to be linked to an illegal POGO hub in the Calabarzon region and is currently under NBI monitoring.

Authorities found four foreign patients

— two Chinese and two Vietnamese — during the raid along with seven Filipino clinic staff, including two doctors who were described by Santiago as “uncooperative.”

They also confiscated unregistered Chinese medicine.

“Based on their license, this facility should have been operating solely as a pharmacy,” said Santiago. “They had no authorization to function as a clinic that treats and prescribes medication to patients.”

He added that the NBI is actively searching for other similar clinics catering to undocumented POGO workers.

In May, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) raided an illegally operating hospital in Pasay City believed to be linked to POGOs.

PAOCC spokesperson Winston John Casio said the facility may have served as a treatment center for injured, sick, or even tortured POGO workers, allowing them to avoid legitimate Philippine hospitals that require identification.