Lawmaker slams irregularities on POGO hub raid

MANILA, Philippines — Two weeks after the raid on a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub where 2,714 Filipinos and foreign workers were rescued, Sen. Raffy Tulfo questioned the Philippine National Police-Anti Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) for conducting the raid without coordination among other government and law enforcement authorities.

At a press conference on July 10, Tulfo raised the alarm about the raid, saying that the ACG said there are foreigners who have been charged, “but what happened to the more than 2,000 who are still in the building? In my humble opinion, they are haggling. Some Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, etc. will haggle for the release. There are embassies talking. The information I have received is there is haggling going on,” he noted.

“Until now, no one has been repatriated and no one has been charged,” Tulfo said at a press conference in the Senate.

Tulfo also criticized the lack of coordination among law enforcement, immigration officers, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) and labor agencies in addressing issues related to POGOs.

The senator said his sources told him that of the seven rooms raided, only one has legitimate POGO documents while the six others were illegal and the police could not force them to go out of the rooms.?He added that an undetermined amount of cash and several firearms were seized by the raiding teams on the premises of the compound. Computers and phones were also seized for forensic examination.

Tulfo said it has been 13 days, but the investigation by the police remains unclear, particularly the criminal liability of the people behind Xinchuang Network Technology Inc. or Hong Tai who are involved in illicit activities.

“That’s why I passed a resolution in the Senate to stop this moro-moro and hao-siao raid,” he said.

In filing the resolution, Tulfo underscored the need to assess the effectiveness of Pagcor in fulfilling its regulatory mandate, ensuring proper coordination with other agencies and protecting the rights and welfare of POGO workers.

Inspections

For its part, the PNP-ACG voiced openness to join in inspections of POGOs in the country.

At a press briefing on July 10, PNP-ACG Director Brig. Gen. Sidney Hernia said they want to have an active participation in the conduct of inspections of POGOs and see the problems first-hand.

“For now, these are not being done. The PNP is not joining the inspections. So, hopefully, we can institutionalize the presence of the PNP, especially the ACG, in monitoring and inspections that would be done by the (Pagcor),” Hernia told reporters. — Ralph Edwin Villanueva