The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) stated that since the Philippines announced a comprehensive crackdown on the offshore gaming industry (POGO), over 9,000 former foreign employees are still stranded across the country. Due to the overcrowded detention centers, law enforcement actions are facing bottlenecks, and large-scale arrests have been temporarily suspended.
At the final hearing of the House Quad-Committee, PAOCC Executive Director Gilbert Cruz revealed that the detention center in Pasig City is currently overcapacity, holding more than 600 foreign nationals. "Our facilities are overwhelmed, so we have to suspend the arrest of these illegal workers," he said.
Cruz pointed out that these foreign nationals are mostly former employees of the online gaming industry, unable to be repatriated due to confiscated or lost passports, and have been moving around the country for a long time, posing potential security and management risks.
Health issues are also becoming increasingly severe. Cruz mentioned that many detainees suffer from infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, hepatitis B, upper respiratory infections, and HIV. One HIV-infected individual died three weeks ago and was cremated.
Currently, the government spends about 2 million pesos per month to provide food and basic medical services for these illegally detained individuals, with financial and resource pressures continuously intensifying.
To strengthen the response, Cruz suggested establishing a national database to track illegal gambling-related activities, supporting local government training to identify underground operations. He also called for enhanced cooperation with foreign consulates, improved repatriation processes, and promoted regional intelligence sharing mechanisms.
"This is not only a law enforcement issue but also concerns national reputation and sovereignty integrity," Cruz emphasized. "We must enhance community reporting awareness to involve the public in curbing the spread of illegal online gambling."
Since the beginning of 2025, Philippine authorities have conducted 10 large-scale raids, arresting approximately 750 foreign nationals involved in the cases.
However, Cruz warned that some illegal gambling groups have moved to the southern regions of Basilan and Mindanao, and even shifted their operations to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, East Timor, with indications that some involved individuals have also moved into Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
In response, Congressman Bienvenido Abante called for the implementation of a "cross-agency joint arrest" mechanism and suggested prioritizing the detention of foreign nationals who roam abroad and may carry infectious diseases. He also advocated for centralized quarantine of these individuals to prevent disease transmission.
Gregorio Catapang Jr., Director of the Bureau of Corrections, responded that the authorities plan to establish special containment areas in the New Bilibid Prison, allocated to the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration, which can accommodate 100 and 500 people, respectively.
To alleviate detention pressure, Abante further proposed utilizing the former national drug rehabilitation center at Fort Magsaysay, transforming it into a facility specifically for housing illegal online gambling foreign workers. He also suggested holding local governments accountable for condoning illegal operations.
In July 2024, Philippine President Marcos Jr. formally announced the prohibition of the online gambling industry, following law enforcement's discovery of torture devices and romance scam tools in multiple raids, indicating that the industry had long become a hotbed for transnational crime.
