This photo taken on July 19, 2024, shows the luxury apartments and an Olympic-sized swimming pool inside a scam center in Bamban, province of Tarlac. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse
MANILA, Philippines – The government plans to adaptively reuse Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) hubs in the country once forfeited, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said on Thursday.
According to PAOCC executive director Usec. Gilbert Cruz, they will collaborate with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) now led by Jonvic Remulla, and the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to explore options for converting Pogo hubs into facilities such as schools and government buildings.
Cruz explained that the raided Pogo hubs are currently subject to civil and criminal forfeiture, which will eventually be turned over to the government.
READ: New DILG chief Remulla vows crackdown on Pogo hubs in Cavite
“Pag-uusapan po namin ‘yan with the Inter-Agency Task Force natin ano, at of course ‘yung DILG po kasama na natin dyan, si DILG Remulla, kung ano po ang balak. Kasi ‘yung Pogo hubs na na-hold na po natin nung nakaraan, may balak na po dyan. Actually, subject na po ng criminal forfeiture cases ‘yan at civil forfeiture cases,” Cruz revealed in a Teleradyo interview.
(We will discuss that with our Inter-Agency Task Force, including the DILG and Secretary Remulla, to determine what the plans are. As for the Pogo hubs that we have previously held, there are already plans in place for those. In fact, they are now subjects of criminal forfeiture and civil forfeiture cases.)
He added that it would be beneficial for communities if the government took ownership of the raided Pogo hubs, particularly those located in Porac, Pampanga and Bamban, Tarlac.
READ: 10,000 foreign Pogo workers sign up for visa downgrading
“May mga kapakinabangan naman pong mangyayari kung sakaling makuha po ng gobyerno ‘yung Pogo hubs na ‘yan, lalo na po itong sa Porac at sa Bamban. Pwede po gawing eskwelahan po ‘yan, ‘yung Porac tsaka Bamban po,” the PAOCC executive director expressed.
(It will be beneficial if the government acquires these Pogo hubs, especially those in Porac and Bamban. They can be turned into schools.)
Cruz cited the raided Pogo hub in Pasay City as an example of how the government has adaptively reused Pogo facilities in the country.
“‘Yung isang Pogohan sa ngayon po dito sa Pasay, ginawa na po nating kulungan ‘yan at rescue center ng DSWD,” he stated.
(The Pogo hub here in Pasay was converted into a detention facility and rescue center by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.)
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. issued a directive banning Pogos in the country during his State of the Nation Address in July.
As a result, Pogo workers are currently applying for visa downgrades, as they are obliged to leave the country by the end of the year.
More than 10,000 Pogo workers have already applied for visa downgrading, according to the Bureau of Immigration on Monday.
In addition, Remulla announced on Wednesday that Pogo hubs operating within the 36-hectare Island Cove in Cavite will be shut down by December 15.