Resort owner in hot water

CEBU, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) yesterday said the 169 foreign nationals arrested during the raid of an alleged illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Lapu-Lapu City the other day will undergo inquest proceedings and will be temporarily detained prior to deportation.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco also said the owners of the resort where the POGO operation was discovered should also face charges for harboring illegal aliens in the area.

“We will suggest to the authorities to file cases against the resort owners on why they allow their properties to be used by illegal aliens in their covert operations,” he said, in a statement.

Tansingco said this will serve as a warning to those who might attempt to start illegal online gambling operations, which has already been banned by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

The president, in his third State of the Nation Address last July 22, ordered the total ban of POGO operations in the country.

Authorities also said the police would use its “visitation powers” to inspect buildings and establishments suspected of housing illegal activities, to counter the difficulty of monitoring POGO activities.

This strategy will involve coordination with local government units (LGUs) during permit applications and fire inspections to gain access inside establishments.

For his part, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan said they will revoke all the permits the city has issued to the Tourist Garden Hotel.

“If they are doing illegal, we will revoke all the permits that we issued to them kay they have different permits man gud na gi-issue nato, they have hotels, they have groceries, they have restaurants, they have KTVs,” he said.

The mayor said that it seemed like the hotel and its other services offered is only a front to the POGO operations.

“Kay mura’g mahug man gud nga i-front lang nila ang ilang negosyo ‘nya ilegal diay ang gihimo,” he said.

Chan said that the city is still waiting for the results of the investigation conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) through the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).

He said that once it is established that there was indeed a POGO operation, the local government unit of Lapu-Lapu City will revoke all the permits of the hotel.

“Mag-wait ta ana unsay resulta nila, kung mao nay resulta sa ilang imbestigasyon, that’s the right time that city will do action,” said Chan.

In his Facebook post, Chan reiterated that he will not allow any illegal POGO operating in the city.

“Labi na nga mao kini ang tinubdan sa lainlaing mga krimen nga sagad nahitabo didto sa kaulohan o sa ubang lugar. Pagkahuman nga gi-deklara sa atong halandong Presidente BBM nga i-ban ang mga illegal nga POGO operation, ato na gimanduan diha dayon ang atong mga kapulisan sa pagmonitor ug pagbantay sa mga sama niini maong bisan unsa pa nila ka tago, nasakpan ra gyud gihapon,” he said.

He expressed his thanks to the various government agencies that conducted the operation.

“Pagkahuman sa atong pakisubay, atong nasuta nga kini nga grupo gikan ni sila sa Pampangga. Nakaikyas sila sa usa ka dakong raid nga gipahigayon didto ug hilom ug tago kaayo sila nga mibalhin sa atong syudad para ipadayon ang ilang operasyon. Maayo na lang gani nga mintras sayo pa, nadakpan gyud ang maong ilegal nga binuhatan aron wala nay krimen nga posibleng mamugna niini,” he added.

Chan urged his constituents to be vigilant and report immediately to the nearest police station, or message him in his Facebook account, in case they notice any POGO operation in their respective areas.

BI Intelligence Division Chief Fortunato Manahan, Jr. revealed that the raid of the Tourist Garden Hotel in Brgy. Agus, Lapu-Lapu City arose from a mission order Tansingco issued against 13 illegal aliens monitored to be overstaying and working without permit in the said location.

The raid was conducted in coordination with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT)-7, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-7.

The raid resulted in the arrest of more than 100 foreign nationals in an illegal online gaming hub.

On the other hand, the DSWD-7 said that the joint operation at the Tourist Garden Hotel also resulted in the rescue of 10 Filipino women and a minor, who were turned over to office for processing and profiling.

“As the co-chair of IACAT-7, DSWD ensures the protection of women and children during rescue operations and that their rights are not violated," said DSWD-7 Regional Director Shalaine Marie S. Lucero.

The IACAT-7 is a council in Central Visayas created to combat human trafficking, including online sexual abuse or exploitation of children.

She said DSWD would provide rescued Filipino citizens with temporary shelter, psycho-social support and counseling, medical and other services, and referral to concerned agencies for other appropriate interventions.

The BI, she said, will provide the services needed by the rescued foreign nationals.

According to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-7, the foreign nationals include 93 Chinese, 69 Indonesians, one Malaysian, and six individuals from Myanmar.

In a phone interview, NBI-7 Director Renan Augustus Oliva said the seven Filipinos, who were identified as administrators or bosses, will face today complaints for violating Republic Act 9208, (Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003).

During the raid, authorities confiscated computers, mobile phones, and other electronic devices that were used for "love scams" and cryptocurrency fraud.

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) earlier disclosed that most of the foreign nationals, along with their bosses and managers, had previously fled from Pampanga after their hub there was raided.

On the other hand, Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, Police Regional Office-7 (PRO-7) spokesperson, assured the relentless monitoring of illegal POGOs remains a top priority for them.

He admitted, though, to the difficulty in definitively confirming the absence of POGO operations in Central Visayas, especially in secluded or privately-owned establishments.

“Like this one (in Lapu-Lapu city) nga naa gyud sa secluded area. So wala may naka-certain gyud nga nak ingon nga wala gyuy POGO sa certain na area. Ang mga certifications nga gi-submit (by the police stations in the region) nagaingon lang nga as of that period wala pay indicator, so wala pa gyuy na-monitor ang atong government,” said Pelare.

He also expressed gratitude for the information provided by the Indonesian victims that led to recent successful operations.

Police Lt. Col. Christian Torres, spokesperson for the Lapu-Lapu Police Office (LLCPO), also said it is difficult to monitor POGO operations, especially in private establishments that use its legitimate business as a a front.

“Lisod man gud i-apply og search warrant kung wala pa gyud tay ebidensiya nga kanang mga lugara gigamit na sila as POGO hub. Kato, og walay usa ka indonesian ato nga nakapatabang, wala gyuy makahibawo ato nga naa gud to didto,” he said.

To recall, the raid in Lapu-Lapu City was prompted by a request from the Indonesian Embassy, after three Indonesian nationals who had stayed at the resort escaped and reported their situation to their embassy.

Chan, for his part, said they were not able to monitor the hotel in Agus as POGO because it complied with the necessary business permits for “other” business operations.

“Kana siyang bahina, di man gud ta ka monitor because in their applications for their business permits, the have compliance of their permits,” he told The Freeman.

“They have hotels, restaurants, KTVs, they have groceries, so they have complied, nihatag gyud ang city (sa permits), but we didn’t know that they were operating illegal POGO,” he added.

Last July, Chan said there are no POGO operations in the Lapu-Lapu City.

Yesterday, he clarified that what he meant was the legal POGO in City Times Square Mactan located in Barangay Basak , which was no longer operating after President Marcos Jr. ordered to ban all POGO in the country.

“There was one area in Lapu-Lapu which was rented, in Basak, in City Time Square, nga girentahan og POGO, for POGO purposes. But siyempre, at that time, before the announcement of the President, gi-allow man sa PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.) ang legal POGOs, so nang-apply sila,” said Chan.

“Syempre kami in the city of Lapu-Lapu, all business as long as legal, they are welcome. So ang atong gipangita mga legal nga businesses. So, at that time, the PAGCOR accepted legal POGOs, not illegal,” he further said.(CEBU NEWS)