Illegal POGO operation in Cebu raided

Philippine authorities on Saturday raided a suspected illegal online gaming operation inside a resort in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, and took custody of 162 foreign nationals, primarily Chinese and Indonesian, a spokesperson for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission said on Sunday.

Spokesperson Winston Casio explained that the raid targeted an “illegal POGO” (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator), where individuals were allegedly committing Internet-based crimes.

Personnel from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, the National Bureau of Investigation, and other government departments carried out the raid.

Mr. Casio claimed that the facility inside Tourist Garden Hotel was operating as an illegal offshore online gaming business. “This is a 100-percent illegal POGO,” Mr. Casio stated, referring to what are now known as Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs).

“We have gathered sufficient evidence to file charges for facilitating cybercrime-related gambling and cybercrime-related qualified trafficking,” he added during a briefing streamed on the social media platform of The Freeman, a Cebu-based news outlet.

The spokesperson noted that the raid was initiated following a request from the Indonesian Embassy after three Indonesian nationals managed to escape from the complex. During the raid, authorities discovered makeshift workstations where individuals were involved in what appeared to be illegal online gaming operations.

“All foreign nationals will be brought to Manila to face inquest proceedings for violating immigration laws,” stated the Anti-Organised Crime Commission. Norman Tansingco, Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration, was quoted in a press release saying that resort owners should also be held accountable and face charges if they were found harboring illegal aliens on their premises.

“We will recommend that authorities file cases against resort owners who allow their properties to be used by illegal aliens in covert operations,” Mr. Tansingco said in a statement. The immigration bureau added that once the proceedings are completed, the arrested foreigners will be deported.

“This will serve as a warning to anyone considering starting illegal online gambling operations, which the President has already banned,” Mr. Tansingco stated.

In July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that offshore online gaming operators in the Philippines would need to cease operations in the country by the end of the year. During his third State of the Nation Address, Mr. Marcos said POGOs had “ventured into illicit areas farthest from gaming.”

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