Unresolved issues of missing foreign POGO workers, rogue POGOs disguised as BPOs, and CEZA
Last week, a woman, allegedly an official from a POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) center, was found in a hotpot restaurant in Tarlac province.
Since the March raid that exposed the cases in Banban and Alice Guo, authorities have been trying to arrest a previously unnamed Chinese national, said to be crucial in the company structure—49-year-old Pan Meishu, also known as Hannah.
Unlike the company bosses—big boss Huang Zhiyang and Singaporean money laundering criminals Lin Baoying and Zhang Ruijin—Pan did not leave the Philippines and was confidently roaming in Pasay City when immigration agents found her on Thursday, December 19.
According to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), Pan is the financial officer of Zun Yuan, allegedly used as a front for a scam center.
Immigration Director Joel Anthony Viado said, "As we crack down on illegal POGO operations, more arrests are expected. These companies engaging in illegal activities have no place in the Philippines."
POGO is not over
However, there is a significant discrepancy in the actual number of foreigners working in Philippine POGOs. This is the basis for authorities to prepare for more actions in 2024, indicating that foreign workers will conduct separate disguise operations.
According to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), since the total ban on POGOs, over 21,000 foreigners have voluntarily downgraded their visa levels. Of these, 10,821 left the country in early December, and the BI estimates that another 7,000 will leave by the end of this year.
Compared to PAOCC's estimate of 353,525 POGO workers, based on the number of foreign employment permits (AEP) specifically issued for POGOs by the Department of Labor, this is a very small number.
According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Rappler, the BI also stated that between 2019 and 2024, 328,925 foreigners obtained Special Work Permits (SWP), Provisional Work Permits (PWP), or 9G commercial visas. This number might decrease, as there could be overlaps with PWP holders who have upgraded to visas.
If hundreds of thousands of former POGO workers do not leave the Philippines—where will they work? "Rogue POGOs will hide in special categories of BPOs," said PAOCC Deputy Chief Minister Gilbert Cruz in an earlier interview.
BPO stands for Business Process Outsourcing company. POGOs might also operate on a smaller scale in hotels, resorts, and residences within partitions. (Please read Rappler's previous investigation into suspicious POGO elements in the sector)
"There are many signs of how to discover operations. If it's a house, the lights are on 24 hours, there are many foreigners in the area, they always have food delivered, there's a lot of trash, they constantly install new internet connections, there are many danger signals, many indicators," Cruz said.
There are also foreign workers within the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), an eco-zone not under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor).
If they are protected by the POGO ban, it remains a gray area. CEZA is operated by the Enriles, whose powerful charter, granting them certain autonomy, was authored by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's chief presidential advisor Juan Ponce Enrile
At the last Senate hearing on POGOs in November last year, CEZA insisted they are not protected by the ban, as their licensees' gaming operations are not conducted in the country.
"There are offshore gaming license holders operating abroad... We believe that the actions of CEZA's offshore interactive gaming license holders are not subject to the constraints of the executive order," CEZA Deputy Director Marichelle De Guzman told the Senate on November 26.
Senator Risa Hontiveros then stated that this is still an issue that needs to be clarified with the Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
When asked if CEZA is bound by the ban, Cruz said, "As far as I know, yes, the president said it applies to everyone. Even export processing zones might be included in the scope that needs to be shut down."
