Solons inspect embattled POGO hub

Members of the House of Representatives initiated an inspection at the Lucky South 99 Corp., the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga which was allegedly involved in several illegal activities.

Lawmakers — assisted by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and other authorities — discovered some Chinese military uniforms, multiple boxes of pre-registered and unused SIM cards, and several torture equipment.

The inspection is part of the House of Representatives’ ongoing investigation of the criminal activities associated with POGOs.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez — who led the search operation — also issued a stern warning that those who are accountable for the illicit activities in the POGO hubs “will have to face the law.”

“That’s why we’re all here so we don’t just see it in the video. [Now], we see for ourselves what is really going on here. We are surprised here because what we have seen here is very, very offensive,” Romuadez said.

“We have seen scam farms, love scams, human trafficking, prostitution, and illegal pornography here. A lot of awful things happen. [They] used a legitimate operation as front,” he added.

Romualdez, along with several House leaders, inspected the 10-hectare Royal Thai Court as part of the government’s efforts to ensure the total shutdown of all POGO operations in compliance with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s marching order.

The Royal Thai Court, which has 46 buildings, was raided by the PAOCC earlier in June.

The Lucky South 99 was also first ordered closed in September 2022, during which 42 foreigners — who were reportedly being coerced to work in the company — were rescued.

The foreign nationals were reported to be subject to torture and other human rights abuses.

On 4 June, it was raided anew by the PAOCC over its alleged link in various internet-based scams.

Meantime, PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio is keen that POGO operations had a correlation with the proliferation of text scams.

“Since the president banned [the POGOs], the number of text scams we receive has dropped significantly,” he told reporters following the inspection at Lucky South 99.

The House delegation also inspected the POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac, operated by Zun Yuan-Ti, and the warehouse of Empire 999 Realty Corp. in Mexico, Pampanga, where P3.6 billion worth of shabu was seized by authorities in September last year.