Philippines deports 2,300 Pogo workers to China, other Asian countries

FILE PHOTO: This photo shows the arrested Chinese nationals, who worked for a Philippine offshore gaming operator in Pasay City, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on December 14, 2023, as they prepare to leave the Philippines. – The Philippine government already deported more than 2,300 foreigners who worked for Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) that were shut down by law enforcers, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (Paocc) chief Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said Friday, December 13, 2024. INQUIRER/NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government already deported more than 2,300 foreigners who worked for Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) that were shut down by law enforcers.

Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (Paocc) chief Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said Friday that most of the foreigners were sent back to China, their country of origin.

“At mangilan-ngilan po sa iba’t ibang bansa — may Indonesia, Malaysia, at Vietnam. But nasa 2,300 na po mahigit,” Cruz also said in an interview with Radyo 630.

(Some of them were deported to other countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. But there are more than 2,300.)

READ: Some Pogos skirt ban, move operations to Visayas, Mindanao – Paocc

The deportation of foreign Pogo workers is part of efforts to implement the nationwide Pogo ban, as ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in July.

During his third State of the Nation Address, Marcos ordered the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation to facilitate the winding down of the Pogo business by the end of this year.

However, the President’s directive to ban pogos has presented new challenges for the government, as “rogue” Pogos emerged.

According to Cruz, around 200 rogue Pogos are still trying to operate nationwide.