Deportation of 1,000 POGO workers seen in 2-3 weeks

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) plans to deport 1,000 Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) workers in the next two to three weeks, according to spokesperson Winston Casio.

Casio said the PAOCC, in coordination with the Bureau of Immigration and the Department of Justice’s Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, has reached an agreement to expedite the deportation process for POGO workers still in the country.

“If NBI clearances can be issued quickly, it will make it easier for us to issue travel documents,” Casio said in a televised briefing. “So, give or take, we expect major deportations happening within two to three weeks.”

The workers set to be deported have been detained following multiple raids of various establishments, with Casio referring to them as the “POGO 1000.”

Casio said the deportation process will prioritize POGO workers from Myanmar, followed by those from Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and China.

The PAOCC expressed confidence it would close down all illegal POGO operations.

“We already know where they are; we are just creating the legal basis for when we catch them,” Casio said. “We cannot simply swoop down on a building without proper legal basis, or else the government will face lawsuits.”

In his third State of the Nation Address in 2024, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced a ban on all POGOs and ordered the shutdown of their operations by December 2024.