BI restricts Pogo-linked deportees to direct flights
Inquirer file photo/Alexis Corpuz
MANILA, Philippines — After initially playing down reports of deported Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) workers using connecting flights to evade authorities in their home countries, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has reversed its stance and now prohibits deportation flights with layovers for foreign fugitives linked to Pogo-related crimes.
In a March 21 resolution, the BI Board of Commissioners ruled that deported foreign nationals with ties to Pogos must be placed on direct flights to their home countries, except in cases where no direct route exists from the Philippines.
READ: Sens chide BI chief for allowing Pogo deportees to take connecting flights
“The discussions during Senate hearings allowed us to hear other perspectives that we have included in our discussions. This is a firm step in strengthening our deportation procedures,” Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said in a statement on Monday.
Viado emphasized that the new policy closes a critical loophole that Pogo deportees had exploited, calling it an “uncharted territory” that the bureau had to navigate following mass deportations and arrests under the nationwide Pogo ban that took effect on Jan. 1.
The BI’s policy shift followed calls from Senators Risa Hontiveros and Sherwin Gatchalian for stricter measures to prevent high-profile criminals from manipulating deportation proceedings.
During a Senate hearing on March 4, Hontiveros grilled BI officials after three Chinese nationals, believed to be the bosses of an illegal Pogo facility, evaded deportation to China by boarding a layover flight to Hong Kong.
Hontiveros questioned senior immigration officials about the whereabouts of Lyu Xun, Kong Xiangrui, and Wang Shangle, alleged owners of a raided Pogo facility in Parañaque City, after receiving information that the three “never arrived in China.”
BI intelligence unit chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. confirmed that Lyu, Kong and Wang, the first to be deported among 438 foreign nationals apprehended in the Jan. 8 raid, took an AirAsia flight to mainland China with a stopover in Hong Kong.
Legislative support
In response to the Senate’s push for a protocol review, the BI, in coordination with the Department of Justice, said it was now working with airlines and foreign embassies to ensure proper enforcement of the new directive.
Viado also urged lawmakers to provide legislative support to institutionalize the policy as the bureau studies additional security measures for deportation procedures, including closer coordination with foreign law enforcement agencies.
At a news forum last month, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission spokesperson Winston Casio said they had urged the BI to prohibit transit flights for deported foreign Pogo workers, citing the case of Indonesian Pogo workers arrested in a guerrilla-type facility in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, last year.
The Indonesians had bought tickets to Indonesia via Singapore, but upon arrival in their layover, they reportedly booked flights to Cambodia, where they are now working in scam hubs.
In response, the BI earlier said their main priority was to fast-track the deportation of foreign nationals since the longer they remain in the country while waiting for their deportation schedules, the more the government incurs costs for their detention.
“We take whatever is available because our priority is to send them out of the country at the soonest possible time,” Viado said in a statement on Feb. 24.
In a press briefing two days later, the BI said their agency did not see it as an “escape” since the ultimate goal was to deport the Pogo workers and ensure that they were no longer on Philippine soil.
