Malacañang warns local execs vs harboring Pogos

Chinese, Indonesian and Filipino workers of a suspected Philippine offshore gaming operator hub in Parañaque City are held by policemen following a raid last Aug. 22. —Nino Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang will run after local government officials who are found to be negligent or are harboring Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) in their locality, despite the stern directive of President Marcos to ban such form of gaming, an official of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said on Monday.

In a television interview, PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio urged local executives to help the national government in its ongoing crackdown on all forms of Pogos, as he conceded that more than 300 illegal hubs continue to conduct clandestine activities.

READ: Raided illegal Pogo hub in Cebu nets 162 foreign workers

On July 31, the House of Representatives turned over to local chief executives dossiers containing a list of 402 illegal Pogos, their exact hub locations, and the personalities involved in their operations.

These files were given to the League of Cities of the Philippines and the League of Municipalities of the Philippines during the continuation of the Pogo inquiry led by the House committees on public order and safety and on games and amusements and said it was up to the local mayors nationwide to promptly shut down the Pogos in their areas.

Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez, who chairs the public order and safety committee, said the panels expected to hear from the local executives within a month on the closure of the 402 illegal Pogos.

Cebu hotel closed

“[Local officials] should wage a more intensified monitoring and not play blind to the illegal activities of these offshore gaming within their locality because it will never be a valid defense for a local official to say that they knew nothing about the presence of these Pogos,” Casio pointed out.

“The PAOCC is seeking the help of local chief executives—governors, mayors, barangay captains, and council members, as they are supposed to be the eyes and ears of the government—that they should have already known before this matter reaches the national government,” he added.

Casio made the statement following the rounding up of 169 foreigners, mostly Chinese, who were believed to be involved in the operation of a scam farm in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu under the guise of a Pogo hub.

Government operatives on Saturday raided the Tourist Garden Hotel in Barangay Agus amid reports that it was operating as a Pogo hub.

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan ordered its closure on Sept. 2 following “the seizure of materials allegedly used for illegal activities and the rescue of undocumented foreigners” in the establishment.

First to know

But Casio took to task the local officials in Lapu-Lapu City for the operation of the Pogo hub, which was supposedly in existence since 2019.

“It is rather saddening because there is a clear case of negligence on the part of the LGU officials because before something like this could operate in a locality, it is the local government that will be the first to know—from the business license processing office, the Bureau of Fire Protection and the local police,” he said.

He, however, clarified that the PAOCC is leaving the determination of the local officials’ culpability to the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

“We hope the [LGUs will cooperate] so that this problem would no longer be prolonged and we can abide by the directive of the President to get rid of all Pogos in the country by Dec. 31,” he said.

Coordinated effort

Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Monday also said that the discovery of the illegal Pogo in Lapu-Lapu City underscored the need for law enforcers to work closely with local authorities in implementing President Marcos’ order.

Hontiveros said it was unfortunate that the clandestine operations of online gambling companies persisted despite the President’s directive.

“I am calling on our law enforcement agencies to step up in implementing the President’s (directive of) total ban (on Pogos),” Hontiveros said in a statement.

“Our hearings have strongly established that these Pogos are run by organized and syndicated criminal groups in complicity with some public officials. That’s why we are also determined to hold liable these public officials who allow these (illegal activities) to continue,” she noted.

Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections said it would just have to proceed with its material misrepresentation complaint against dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, after she waived her right to answer the election charge being pursued against her. Guo, also identified by her Chinese name Guo Hua Ping, had been linked to a Pogo hub raided in her town for illegal activities. —with reports from Nestle Semilla-Dakay, Dexter Cabalza and Inquirer Research