The Philippine National Police (PNP) has intensified its surveillance and enforcement efforts against Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in the Central Visayas region. This move follows a successful raid last Saturday in a resort in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, where 162 foreigners were rescued.
Brigadier General Anthony Aberin, the director of the Police Regional Office 7 (PRO-7), has instructed police chiefs across Cebu to enhance monitoring of potential POGO activities within their jurisdictions. Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, the regional police spokesperson, stated that the target of the raid was a POGO center located in Agus village, Lapu-Lapu City.
Meanwhile, Pelare has called on the residents of Cebu to actively report institutions suspected of fraud.
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) revealed that the raid on the Tourist Garden Hotel property was initiated at the request of the Indonesian Embassy, aiming to rescue eight Indonesian citizens detained at the illegal POGO center.
The POGO center, disguised as a resort, included a restaurant, bar, mini-store, and swimming pool. The operation involved law enforcement officers from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of Central Visayas, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), and the Bureau of Immigration (BI), successfully rescuing 162 foreigners forced into fraudulent activities. The rescued included 83 Chinese, 70 Indonesians, 2 Taiwanese, 6 Burmese, and 1 Malaysian.
Renan Oliva, the NBI director for Central Visayas, stated that after confirming illegal activities, they closely coordinated with the PAOCC, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, IACAT, and the Bureau of Immigration. He mentioned that the initial illegal activities primarily violated immigration laws, but further investigation into potential involvement in fraud activities is ongoing to verify the identities of all rescued foreigners.
Additionally, the raid also rescued several Filipino women, including a minor, who have been handed over to the local social welfare office.
Oliva suspects that the POGO participants captured in this operation might be individuals who moved to Cebu to continue illegal activities after previous raids in the Luzon region.
