Senators prop POGO assets’ confiscation

Senators on Thursday called on the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to go after the assets of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), following its move to seek the cancellation of birth certificates fraudulently obtained by foreign nationals in the country.

In a statement, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros said the OSG should also start working on recovering assets that were “illegally used” by POGOs.

“These properties should then be repurposed as reparations for victims and survivors of human trafficking, as outlined in the Anti-Financial Account and Scamming Act,” Hontiveros said.

“I hope that 2025 will be the year we finally pass the Anti-POGO Act. We need comprehensive legislation to ensure that no POGO can scam, harm, or deceive the many people who fall victim to their operations,” she added.

Senator Joel Villanueva echoed the same call to the OSG, stressing that it should work in coordination with other agencies such as the Bureau of Immigration, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Philippine Statistics Authority, to cancel fraudulent birth certificates.

“The case of Alice Guo has shown us the magnitude and extent of the problem of foreign nationals illegally acquiring Philippine citizenship, passports, and government identification cards,” Villanueva said in a separate statement.

“Senate Bill 2868, which we authored and co-sponsored in the Senate, authorizes the forfeiture of all POGO assets, such as buildings and other structures and facilities, in favor of the government and these may be disposed of in accordance with existing laws, rules, and regulations,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said that part of his office’s “massive post-POGO task” is the cancellation of all certificates of birth fraudulently acquired by foreign nationals.