This week, the Philippine government massively deported 100 Chinese citizens suspected of participating in illegal offshore gambling (POGO) activities, marking a new phase in the country's crackdown on illegal gambling and transnational crime. These individuals were previously arrested in locations such as Cebu, Camiguin, Parañaque, and Pasay, involved in illegal gambling operations, human trafficking, and telecommunications fraud.
The original list for deportation included 106 people, but due to some individuals still undergoing judicial proceedings or having unverified identities, only 100 were successfully boarded back to China. Gilberto Cruz, the Executive Director of the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), personally escorted the deportees to Shanghai and will meet with relevant Chinese authorities to discuss further law enforcement cooperation.
Cruz noted that the operation received full support from the Chinese Embassy, which assisted in verifying identities and covered all deportation costs. He mentioned that many of the deportees used dual identities or forged documents, which greatly complicated the investigations. "Deportation is just the first step; we will continue to clean up the illegal gambling network," he stated.
At Manila Airport, a Filipino woman tearfully told reporters that her Chinese husband was deported, and she plans to travel to China with her baby at the end of the month, but is facing visa and financial difficulties.
According to Cruz, since the Philippines began a comprehensive cleanup of the POGO industry, about 4,000 Chinese citizens involved have been deported, but around 9,000 still remain, some continuing illegal operations. He emphasized that eradicating illegal gambling forces is still a long way off, but the Philippines will continue to deepen cooperation with China in areas such as anti-money laundering, tracking of encrypted assets, and intelligence sharing.
This operation not only demonstrates the high level of mutual trust between China and the Philippines in combating transnational cybercrime but also sends a strong signal of the Philippine government's commitment to regulating the gambling disorder and maintaining social order. In the future, the two sides may achieve more operational cooperation results in areas such as investigative capacity building and joint law enforcement mechanisms.
