SENATOR Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, urged the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (Pogo) as a “threat” to national security.
Hontiveros said that during an executive session of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality with regulatory and law enforcement agencies, she urged the National Security Commission (NSC) to bring matters concerning Pogo and its involvement in various illegal activities such as cybercrimes, human trafficking, and money laundering, among others, to Marcos.
She reiterated her call to ban Pogo in the Philippines, noting that there are strong grounds to declare them as a national security threat.
“Hopefully, the NSC and the President himself will listen to our call to check if Pogos are a national security threat and if that would be their opinion, the President should act against Pogos,” she added.
Among those who attended the executive session were representatives from the PNP, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat), Office of the Solicitor General, Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Security Council, Department of Foreign Affairs, Anti-Money Laundering Council, Bureau of Immigration, and National Bureau of Investigation.
While she refused to divulge particular information discussed during the session, Hontiveros said the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) had conducted a “link analysis” between Pogos and several local government units and “influential figures.”
The Anti-Money Laundering Council also discussed the illegal revenue flows of Pogos.
Law enforcement agencies have conducted various raids against Pogo over the past years, which would usually result in the rescue of, if not hundreds, dozens of foreign nationals who are allegedly victims of human trafficking while some were even tortured.
Several Chinese nationals were also rescued after being abducted in relation to the Pogo operations.
On Wednesday, June 5, at least 186 foreign and Filipino workers were rescued during a raid in a Pogo complex in Porac, Pampanga. Some of the victims were allegedly mauled while others were sexually abused.
The said Pogo firm, Lucky South 99, was raided and shut down on September 17, 2022 also over alleged involvement in illegal activities.
PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio said the firm is operating even without a permit to operate from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor).
He tagged Lucky South 99 as the biggest business facility in Pampanga, with a total of 46 buildings, including villas and other structures, as well as a golf course.
“The raid stemmed from a report received from confidential informants that a female foreign national is being sexually trafficked in the area and that male foreign nationals are being tortured,” Casio said.
The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality launched on May 7, 2024, its probe into the raided Pogo hub, Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated (ZYTI), in Bamban, Tarlac in March that resulted in the rescue of 800 employees, including around 500 foreigners, of which 427 were Chinese nationals.
The raid stemmed from a complaint of one of its Vietnamese workers who escaped from the facility, which is located in the 7.9-hectare property, owned by Baofu Land Development Inc. (BLDI), a few meters away from the Municipal Hall of Bamban in Tarlac.
It was allegedly involved in surveillance activities and hacking of government websites.
The ZYTI was formerly Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc., which was raided by the authorities on February 1, 2023.
Found in the complex were several luxury vehicles and huge amounts of cash hidden inside security vaults, among others.
Hontiveros also noted the gleaming villas found within the compound, valued at over P40 million each; the wine cellar; state-of-the-art kitchen and toilets; an underground bunker; and a maze of tunnels.
The operation of ZYTI is linked to now suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, who was accused of being a Chinese national. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)