The Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) recently raided a hotel in Pasay City, discovering several South Koreans allegedly involved in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) activities, and recommended the closure of the hotel. Additionally, authorities found that one of the suspects had overstayed their visa and should have been deported earlier.
The operation commenced on Monday afternoon, with law enforcement officers raiding the hotel's basement and finding six Koreans operating desktop computers suspected to be related to POGO activities.
The raid was conducted by PAOCC in collaboration with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the national police, targeting illegal gambling activities.
Authorities are still verifying the exact number of people arrested, including whether any Filipino citizens were involved. A Filipino female employee being interviewed at the scene stated that her main job was simple copy-pasting tasks, and she had only been working there for a month.
Deputy Minister Gilbert Cruz of PAOCC revealed that the POGO operation might involve billions of pesos in cash flow, indicating its large scale and the seriousness of potential illegal activities.
So far, the hotel management has not responded to the incident, while law enforcement continues further investigations.
Candidate of Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas urged the enforcement of the exit policy for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), emphasizing that the key issue is implementation, not legislative gaps.
At a press conference held in Citadines Bay City, Pasay City, Makati City Mayor Abby Binay stressed that law enforcement agencies must ensure the implementation of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s directive on a total ban on POGO and accelerate the related cleanup efforts.
"The President's order is clear, ensuring all POGO operations centers are closed is the responsibility of the police, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Bureau of Immigration," Binay stated in her speech, believing that the focus should be on implementation rather than additional legislation.
Former Interior Minister Benjamin Abalos Jr. also noted that there needs to be close cooperation between local governments and national agencies to effectively regulate POGO businesses and expedite their exit process.
For this purpose, he proposed the immediate establishment of a special task force, composed of local officials, the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), and community leaders, to strengthen inspections of commercial establishments and ensure the complete exit of POGO from the market.
