LAPU-LAPU City is on the lookout for foreign nationals who may be conducting Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) scams and activities in the city, said Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan.
Following the discovery of a Pogo hub operating in a hotel in Barangay Agus, Chan told SunStar Cebu in a phone interview on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, that the City Government and law enforcement units have increased measures to uncover suspected Pogo scams in their midst.
“Since there are already reports of outsiders from Pampanga that have now entered Lapu-Lapu, we’ve increased our alert level. We’ve tripled our efforts because there are already some modus operandi and scams happening,” said Chan in a mix of Cebuano and English.
Earlier in July, Chan reported that the City remained free of illegal Pogo since 2019 but the raid on the Tourist Garden Hotel last Saturday, Aug. 31, prompted the local government unit to coordinate with composite teams to capture those involved in illegal offshore gaming operations.
Lt. Col. Christian Torres, Lapu-Lapu City Police Office spokesman, said they received reports of illegal activities taking place at the hotel in 2023 yet.
“Kanang gi-raid karon since last year naka receive na og report ang atong intel community diri na kana na hotel is suspected na naay possible Pogo like activities,” said Torres.
(Regarding the raid that recently occurred, our intelligence community has been receiving reports since last year that the hotel is suspected of having possible Pogo-like activities.)
Torres stressed that the local police had a hard time penetrating the establishment due to limited access to resources and the nature of the activities, which are “highly technical.”
“Pasalamat ta kay na-detect dayun sa national government kay diri sa among capability dili kaayu mi, kuwang, di kaayu mi makadetect anang mga cyber activities. Naka-report nata ana, suspected nana sya pero di lang gyud mi ka penetrate diri sa side sa local kay wala kaayu ta’y kahimanan,” said Torres.
(We are thankful that the National Government detected it quickly because with our local capabilities, we are not very equipped to detect such cyber activities. We had already reported it as a suspicion, but we couldn’t penetrate it from our side locally due to a lack of resources and tools.)
Torres further disclosed that there are other “suspected” Pogo hubs operating in tourist establishments in Barangays Mactan, Punta Engaño and Subabasbas, which they are now monitoring.
As of Sunday, authorities were still waiting for the Department of Justice to issue arrest warrants on the 169 foreign nationals who were taken into custody during the hotel raid last Saturday.
The operation was initially launched to rescue Indonesian nationals believed to be held captive after three of their compatriots escaped and filed a complaint for slight illegal detention last July 21 before the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office. / DPS