KEY stakeholders from various government agencies and local government units (LGUs) convened on Saturday, July 20, 2024, in a bid to combat issues related to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (Pogo), scam farms, and business permitting challenges. Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. presided over coordination meetings in Clark, Pampanga, and Camp Crame in Quezon City, which was attended by Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil, along with police unit commanders and local chief executives.
Abalos emphasized the important role of LGUs in regulating and overseeing Pogo operations, especially in ensuring compliance with legal standards, safeguarding public welfare, and combating illicit activities within their jurisdictions. On the orders of the DILG, LGUs conducted inventories on online gaming establishments in their areas to check for possible illegal activities. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation earlier said that of the nearly 300 Pogos in 2023, only 46 were given renewed licenses to operate due to the “illegal activities” of the others.
“’Yan ang naging tinatawag natin scam farm. Bubunga ng mga illegal activities at kumalat..
. Hindi na natin aantayin na magraid pa o may mangyari pa sa isang lugar. Ating iisa-isahin na ang mga establishment on the ground.
Uunahin natin mga suspected [establishments],” Abalos. (That’s what we call a scam farm. It arises from illegal activities and spreads.
.. We will no longer wait for a raid or for something to happen in a certain place.
We will go through the establishments one by one on the ground. We will prioritize the suspected establishments.) Marbil reiterated the PNP’s commitment to supporting LGUs in their regulatory functions, noting the creation of Special Task Force Skimmer amid the fight against illegal Pogos in cooperation with other government agencies like the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.
"The PNP is dedicated to assisting LGUs in ensuring that Pogo operations meet all legal requirements. Our joint efforts will help prevent illegal activities and enhance the safety and well-being of our communities," he said. “I want to assure po wala po kaming nagproprotekta.
Madami po kami tinanggal [na personnel] sa Philippine National Police, especially po sa Tarlac. Not because they are involved, not because they are a protector, but because our DILG (secretary) Atty. Benhur Abalos, ang sabi niya zero tolerance for incompetence.
Because hindi niya inaksyunan ang simpleng reklamo at kaya lumalaki...
kaya po natin tinatanggal ang mga opisyal natin,” he added. (I want to assure you that we are not protecting anyone. We have removed many personnel from the Philippine National Police, especially in Tarlac.
Not because they are involved, not because they are protectors, but because our DILG (secretary) Atty. Benhur Abalos said zero tolerance for incompetence. Because they did not act on simple complaints, which is why the issues grew.
.. that’s why we are removing our officials.
) The Pagcor said that among the indications of an ongoing illegal Pogo are establishments with high walls and barbed wire fences, heightened security measures, numerous security cameras, lack of emergency exits, densely inhabited floors or buildings, food deliveries at the gate, groups of foreign nationals, continuous entry and exit of heavily tinted vans and cars and posters and social media job hirings. Abalos also earlier said that legal Pogos were located only in Metro Manila and Cavite. “So kung makakita ngayon dito sa probinsya na ganito except for Cavite and except for Metro sigurado illegal yan,” he said.
(So if you see something like this now in the province, except for Cavite and Metro Manila, it is definitely illegal.) Earlier, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said that the administration’s economic managers, which includes him, has recommended to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. the total ban of Pogo in the country.
Pogo raids Over the past months, several illegal Pogo hubs were raided by the authorities in Metro Manila and Luzon. Among the biggest raids were that of Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga, which resulted in the apprehension of hundreds of foreign workers without valid working documents. These firms tagged as “scam farms” in the guise of Pogo were situated in big land properties with luxurious villas and facilities.
Several victims of mauling and sexual abuse were also found in these buildings being occupied by the illegal Pogo companies. These raids prompted the launch of a Senate inquiry, which later centered on the real identity of suspended Bamban Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, who according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), is one and the same person as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping based on fingerprints. There were also reports that these Pogos were not paying the current government taxes.
(TPM/SunStar Philippines).
