Recently, the Philippines has been in turmoil, especially with the ongoing cases involving Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), plunging the industry into unprecedented chaos. Many are considering whether to head to Thailand or other Asian countries to lay low.
However, just as the storm seemed to be subsiding, a shocking piece of news stirred up a huge uproar again: three executives from Lucky South 99 took advantage of the chaos to attempt to flee the country, but were arrested in the southern Philippines, inadvertently exposing a secret cross-border smuggling route.
Lucky South 99 Executives' Escape Attempt Fails, Underground Passage Surfaces
According to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) of the Philippines, on March 22, three executives from Lucky South 99 tried to escape to Sabah, Malaysia, via the "backdoor" route in the Tawi-Tawi region of southern Philippines. They were intercepted and arrested by the authorities of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) due to an engine failure. It was reported that these executives planned to use a "transporter" — an underground organization or individual assisting illegal cross-border movement — to flee the Philippines, bypassing official deportation procedures.
The identities of the arrested individuals are as follows:
Ying Guanzhen, 31 years old
Yang Jinlong, 29 years old
Liu Xin, 28 years old
Investigations revealed their complete escape route: Tawi-Tawi → Sabah → Kuala Lumpur → a third country, attempting to sneak through multiple Southeast Asian countries. During the operation, Philippine law enforcement seized a large amount of cash, forged travel documents, and communication devices related to the Southeast Asian cross-border smuggling network.
An unnamed official from the Philippine Bureau of Immigration stated, "This operation has thoroughly exposed their escape pattern, and we have finally grasped how they bypass border checks."
POGO's Usual Escape Tactics: Illegal Exit Becomes an Industry Unwritten Rule?
What is more shocking is that this is not the first time POGO senior personnel have attempted to flee the Philippines in a similar manner. In recent years, several cases involving POGO have been accompanied by illegal smuggling incidents. For example:
**Former President Duterte's spokesperson Harry Roque** flew from Zamboanga to Tawi-Tawi on September 2, 2023, and then mysteriously "disappeared." Just two days later, he appeared in Dubai, UAE, and was confirmed by the local embassy.
**Former Mayor of Tarlac Province, Alice Guo** is suspected by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) of the Philippines to have successfully escaped along the route "Tawi-Tawi → Kota Kinabalu → Kuala Lumpur → Batam."
NICA Director Ferlu Silvio admitted in a Senate hearing, "The southern border control of the Philippines is extremely lax, allowing these fugitives to easily cross. This is a major hidden danger in the field of national security."
Why Must Deportation Be Direct Flights? Transit Stations Become "Escape Windows"
With the frequent occurrences of POGO-related personnel fleeing, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration has decided to implement stricter deportation measures. Data shows that in the past two years, there have been at least three instances of deported individuals escaping during transit in a third country:
In 2024, three POGO-related individuals escaped during their deportation journey via Malaysia and remain unaccounted for to this day.
In 2023, another group of deported individuals was "mysteriously released" during a transit in Singapore, successfully avoiding the deportation process.
To plug this loophole, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration officially issued Resolution No. 2025-002 on March 21, 2025, requiring:
All POGO-related deported individuals must take direct flights back to their home countries.
Unless there are no direct flights available from the Philippines, deported individuals must not transit through a third country.
Immigration Director Joel Viado emphasized in a press release, "Eliminating the loophole at transit stations is a crucial step in preventing the spread of POGO fugitives. In the past, they have exploited the lenient policies of third countries to evade sanctions, but now we can no longer give them that opportunity."
Smuggling Route Exposed by Philippine Media: Revealing Insider Information or Indirectly Guiding?
It is astonishing that the Philippine domestic media, in reporting this incident, detailed the smuggling route from Tawi-Tawi to Malaysia, then to Kuala Lumpur, and on to a third country, with such thoroughness that it is chilling. The public disclosure of this information undoubtedly serves as an "action guide" for escapees.
Some netizens sarcastically commented, "From Tawi-Tawi to Malaysia, the straight-line distance is just over a hundred kilometers, a speedboat can 'run' across in minutes! Not taking this route would be an insult to one's intelligence!"
However, some analysts believe that since this route has been exposed, the Philippine authorities will inevitably strengthen border patrols, and the difficulty of escaping via this route will significantly increase in the future.
Conclusion: Smuggling Storm Still Not Subsided, Philippine Border Loopholes Remain
From the failed smuggling attempt of Lucky South 99 executives, to the successful escapes of Harry Roque and Alice Guo, and the public exposure of smuggling routes by the Philippine media, the issue of illegal smuggling in the Philippines has revealed serious border security loopholes. With the tightening of deportation policies and the strengthening of border patrols, will such escape incidents decrease in the future?
On the other hand, will the frequent exposure of these escape routes tempt more people to try their luck? Amidst the turbulent times, the smuggling storm in the Philippines is far from over...
