Expanding POGO ops alarming

Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) are no longer just small, scattered groups but are evolving into bigger organized hubs.

“We have noticed that the operations we have been uncovering are no longer small and scattered but are beginning to resemble hubs rather than guerrilla operations,” Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) spokesperson Director Winston Casio said in a radio interview.

Among the recent high-profile raids was one conducted at the ATI Building in Parañaque City where 147 foreign nationals and over 300 Filipino workers were apprehended. Another major raid in collaboration with local government units resulted in the arrest of 401 foreign nationals at the One Wheels Condominium near Aseana in Pasay City.

“The numbers are alarming, which means there are still many of them operating in the country,” Casio said.

Those arrested included over 200 Chinese nationals, more than 100 Vietnamese, and 24 Koreans, among others.

Illegal POGO operations are spreading beyond Metro Manila, Casio revealed.

“We are now seeing these guerrilla-type POGOs spread out all over the country. In fact, we are receiving reports of their presence as far as Mindanao and the Visayas,” he said.

Metro area still favored

Metro Manila, however, remains a hotspot, particularly the southern area where entertainment centers and casinos are concentrated.

POGO operators prefer to put their operations in the southern part of Metro Manila due to its closeness to casinos, Casio said.

“Foreign nationals, particularly those addicted to gambling, tend to gravitate to these areas,” he added.

“When the bosses relocated the POGOs far from the southern part of Metro Manila, they became restless, according to the information we got, because they didn’t want to be far from the casinos,” he said.

He assured the public, however, that the government is ramping up its efforts to dismantle the illegal POGO networks and identify the individuals involved in the operations to hold them accountable.

“We will rigorously hunt them down,” he said. “Those found responsible will face criminal charges. There needs to be accountability.”

Hasten deportations

As for the foreign nationals arrested recently, the PAOCC is expediting their deportation.

“The bulk of them will be deported as soon as possible,” Casio said.

With the government intensifying the crackdown, the PAOCC made it clear it will not relent in its mission to eradicate illegal POGO operations from the Philippines.

After the 31 December 2024 deadline for POGO operations to shut down, more and more small operations appeared.

While “guerrilla-type” POGO continue to appear, Casio said he sees it as more of “hubs” due to the large number of people involved in the operations.

“Lately there have been quite a few of them that we have been catching. So, I would like to re-categorize them because they’re beginning to appear more like hubs than guerrilla operations,” Casio said.

“It’s quite worrying; it means there are still a lot of them. But we will continue to hunt them, strongly and rigorously, because we cannot ignore the total ban imposed by our President,” he said.