NBI probes officials over Zamboanga Sibugay POGO hubs

The possible involvement of government officials who allowed the operations of two raided Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) in Zamboanga Sibugay is now being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

“Ang tinitingnan po namin ngayon po kung may violation ng anti-graft and corrupt practices kung may participation ng mga opisyal po ng pamahalaan,” said NBI Director Melvin Matibag during a radio interview on Monday, October 5.

(We are investigating possible violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and whether government officials were involved.)

Last October 2, state forces rounded up 244 people, including foreign nationals, from two raided POGOs in the towns of Siay and Alicia in Zamboanga Sibugay.

Matibag said the NBI will subpoena local officials in these towns and ask for documents that allowed the construction of the facilities and permitted their operations.

“Kailangan po natin silang ipatawag at ipaliwanag paano nakakuha ng permit na magconstruct,” he said.

(We need to summon them and have them explain how these facilities obtained permits for their construction.)

The director said the NBI is also investigating whether these POGOs were used as troll farms.

“Hinihinala namin po sa ngayon kaya namin po binubusising maige na maaaring sangkot din po sa troll farm operations ang mga ito,” said the NBI chief.

(We suspect that they are involved, so we are now looking into whether they have been used as troll farms.)

Matibag said international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catchers and 4,000 mobile phones were seized from the POGOs, which were also found to be conducting “love scams.”

Meanwhile, he said the NBI is eyeing the filing of multiple charges against those found involved in the operations of the two hubs, including human trafficking, financial scamming, illegal POGO operations, and money laundering.

Among those rounded up, he said, “ang positive pong individuals ngayon na involved sa operation ay nasa 54 po.”

(There are 54 people who have been positively identified as involved in the operations of the POGOs.)

Matibag said the NBI needs translators to be able to talk to those rounded up during the operations, including those who are victims of human trafficking, forced labor, and physical injuries.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) earlier said that those rounded up in Siay included 110 Chinese nationals, two Cambodians, and one Hong Kong national.

The foreigners rounded up in Alicia were mostly Chinese, while the rest were nationals of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Myanmar.