ROGUE’ COMPANY Wednesday’s raid not only tried to dismantle an alleged human trafficking operation but also revealed the vastness of the private property where the questionable online gaming hub had thrived. —Photos by Jun A. Malig
MANILA, Philippines — A rescued Malaysian national testified before a House of Representatives panel that his friend, a Chinese, sold him to the raided Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo) hub in Bamban, Tarlac for P300,000.
During the motu proprio investigation of the House committee on public order safety on Wednesday, a Pogo worker identified as “Dylan”, not his real name, said he came to the Philippines in 2021 from Dubai after his old company moved to the Philippines.
A friend then invited him to celebrate the Chinese New Year last February 10, 2024 at Baofu Land in Bamban. However, his friend left him there, and Baofu officials eventually told Dylan would have to work there unless he can pay off the money used to buy him.
READ: Alice Guo may have left PH using Chinese passport – Gatchalian
“Actually I came to the Philippines since 2021, okay, I travelled (from) Dubai, and our old company there already transferred over here. After that, okay, why I (was) in Bamban, Tarlac? Okay, on February 10th, it was almost Chinese New Year, our friends, the one is my old colleague who I met in the Philippines, here, and then when I arrived there in Bamban, Tarlac […] he told me to work,” Dylan said.
“He said he will do something and come back later, and then I just wait until around 30 minutes after, the office is coming to call me and then go to this place, and then he told me I need to work in there, maybe I think I already got sold, asking that I pay the price of debt that he sold me, and say actually you need to work around half a year, after that if you get the payment, you can get freedom,” he added.
Dylan said Pogo officials seized his phone, adding that he was also tortured — being punched in the back and the face.
“When I was in Bamban then, when I first stayed, they already got my phone, my personal phone, I lost my contacts, maybe I just tried to save myself until I get my phone and find another way for contacts,” he said.
“In the face, they torture me in the face, we got punched,” he added.
READ: Over 800 Filipinos, foreign Pogo workers rescued in Tarlac raid
Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) spokesperson Winston John Casio relayed Dylan’s story after the Malaysian found it difficult to explain his side to the Filipino lawmakers.
“Dylan, as he was telling his story, he was sold po, binenta siya doon sa Zun Yuan, sa Baofu, ang nagbenta po sa kanya barkada pa po niya, ang sabi sa kanya ng barkada niya kakain lang tayo sa Baofu kasi Chinese New Year po ‘yon. Pero ang nangyari po ibinenta siya sa halagang P300,000 pero hindi po niya alam,” Casio explained.
(Dylan, as he was telling his story, he was sold to the Zun Yuan Pogo, to Baofu, and the one who sold him was his friend, who said that they would only visit Baofu for the Chinese New Year. But what happened is that he was unwittingly sold for P300,000.)
“Tapos no’ng nagpupumilit na po siyang umalis do’n sa Baofu […] doon na po ininform siya na you have already been sold, you would have to pay off your debt to them,” he added.
(Then when he was trying to get out of Baofu […] that’s the time he was told that he was already sold, that he would have to pay off his debt to them.)
According to Casio, Dylan was able to seek help by using his company phone to contact his relatives in Malaysia, who then informed the Malaysian embassy. The embassy subsequently relayed the information to Philippine authorities.
“Kinuha po ‘yong kanyang cellphone tapos ‘yon nga po sinabihan na po siya na ‘kung kaya mong mabayaran within six months makakalabas ka po’. Pero may mga pagkakataon po kasi na umaalma po ‘yong witness kaya siya po’y nabubugbog,” Casio said.
(They got his cellphone and then he was told that ‘if you can pay it within six months then you can get your freedom’. But there were times that he protested that’s why he got beaten up.)
“Naipagbigay alam po siya sa atin ng Malaysian embassy nakapag-text po siya sa company phone, pinakita po niya ‘yong mga bugbog niya sa kanyang mukha,” he added.
(Malaysian embassy was able to alert us because he was able to send messages using their company phone, where he showed the injuries he sustained to his face.)
READ: House bill filed to ban Pogos, revoke licenses
Last March 13, 371 Filipinos and 497 foreigners were rescued from a Pogo hub in Bamban, Tarlac, which was raided for alleged human trafficking involvement.
The Pogo was linked to now suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) accused the local chief executive of having business interests in Baofu Land Development Inc.
Baofu owns the land where the raided Pogo sits. DILG said Baofu, as represented by Guo who was president of the company, purchased eight parcels of land in Bamban last February 2019.
Guo claims to have divested ownership of Baofu, but DILG believes the amount she divested it for — P2.5 million — was “grossly incongruent to her investment on Baufo which is approximately eight hectares of land”.
There have been proposals to totally ban Pogos in the country. Last June 11, Makabayan bloc lawmakers in the House of Representatives filed House Bill (HB) No. 10525 or the proposed Anti-Pogo Act of 2024 — which will revoke existing licenses and ban future Pogos due to the social cost it brings.
The House panel is conducting a probe on the Pogos, upon the instruction of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. Previously, Romualdez said that a total ban on Pogos will only lead to the gaming operators going underground, suggesting that strict enforcement of laws be pursued instead.