The Bureau of Immigration (BI) stated on Friday that it is collaborating with other agencies to locate approximately 11,000 workers of illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), who are "prepared to be deported."
These online gaming company employees failed to downgrade to tourist visas and leave the country before December 12. BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval noted that the deadline was the 31st.
"Of the 33,863 online gaming company employees we expected to leave, a total of 22,609 have departed. Currently, it seems we have over 11,000 foreigners ready to be deported," she told TeleRadyo Servisyo.
"We have not [caught them] yet. Now we will start to find them through their companies." The official admitted that locating the 11,000 POGO workers will be "a challenge," as some of them might be hiding or may have already started small-scale online gaming businesses.
"Since this type of work is done online... they can even do it in CRs. We now hear reports that some are trying to form splinter groups of less than 10 people within various districts," Sandoval said. The Bureau of Immigration is working with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), law enforcement agencies, and local governments to monitor suspicious activities.
Sandoval warned the public against harboring former offshore gaming company employees, saying, "If they know that what the foreigners are doing there is illegal, there is illegal operation of online games, this will be considered as harboring illegal foreigners."
Last July, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos announced a complete ban on online gaming companies by the end of 2024, stating that these companies were used by organized crime to cover up human trafficking, money laundering, cyber fraud, kidnapping, and even murder.
Deputy Minister of Justice Felix Nicolas Tai stated that the government's raid operations are still ongoing, with scammers continuing to traffic foreign and local workers, forcing them to sell fake investment schemes to clients around the world.
However, they no longer operate in large buildings or office complexes in major cities, but have moved to the provinces, using less conspicuous buildings.
Tai stated at a security forum, "The current MO (modus operandi) of these operations is to conduct guerrilla-style small-scale (operations) in resorts or even residential areas." He added that some have also turned to non-"top of the line."
"We are seeing an evolution from large-scale operations to smaller ones," the senator agreed. Sherwin Gatchalian also spoke at the forum.
Gatchalian mentioned that scam farms also adopt other disguises, including a recently raided company that masqueraded as a business process outsourcing but was found to be running "scam software."
Tai noted that while there are signs that "their resources are diminishing," scam operators "remain deeply entrenched," and it is unrealistic to expect to take them all down due to limited government resources and manpower.
Benedict Hoffman, Deputy Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, told UN News earlier this year that Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, is the "ground zero of the global scam industry."
A report by the Washington-based think tank United States Institute of Peace in May 2024 stated that these scammers target millions of victims worldwide, with annual revenues reaching $64 billion.
The study's lead author, Jason Tower, stated at a Manila forum, "These criminal gangs are primarily from mainland China... they started in the online gambling sector," then expanded into the more profitable scam sector.
It is estimated that the industry employs 500,000 workers, mainly recruited through social media, who are then forced into scamming jobs, facing torture if they fail to meet quotas.
Tai stated that these groups have invested "significant sunk costs" in their operations in the Philippines and may hope to recoup some of these costs.
"That's why they persist in operating the way they do now, even though the scale is smaller and the profits may also be lower than before."
