Freezing of Porac POGO assets ordered

MANILA, Philippines —  The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) has ordered the freezing and preservation of assets of the Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga, that was recently raided by police.

In a memorandum addressed to Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Matthew David, PAOCC chairman Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin ordered the council to apply for a freeze order or asset preservation from an appropriate court.

“The application shall cover all assets within the compound where Lucky South 99 Corp. is situated that are linked to unlawful activity as defined by RA 9160, as amended,” the memorandum read.

The AMLC is likewise tasked to determine, based on the evidence, the specific assets that will be included in the application, which may include the whole compound where Lucky South 99 Corp. is located (46 buildings) and the vehicles parked within the vicinity of Lucky South 99 compound.

Authorities have found illegal drugs and various instruments of torture, including baseball bats and metal sticks, which police believe were used to torture people, inside the estimated 10-hectare Lucky South compound.

Four foreigners – three men and a woman – who were among the 160 foreign nationals rounded up in the POGO hub said they were victims of torture.

A Chinese national handcuffed to a bedframe inside what was believed to be a torture chamber was among the many discoveries of PAOCC at the POGO hub.

Lucky South 99 Corp. has no license to operate, the PAOCC earlier said.

The PAOCC also reported a total of 18 sets of Chinese military uniforms recovered at the compound, which the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said was likely only used as props in illicit online transactions.

In a separate memorandum, now addressed to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco, Bersamin also ordered the summary deportation of 156 foreign nationals apprehended during the raid.

The DOJ and BI are likewise directed to blacklist the foreigners and bar their re-entry to the country.

“We are proceeding with the summary deportation of all foreign nationals found in the Lucky South 99 raid. Also, we will proceed with the preservation order of the Lucky South 99 property,” PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio said.

Casio said the foreign nationals are currently detained at the PAOCC temporary detention in Pasay City.

Ought to be deported

Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo should be stripped of her position and immediately deported because she lied about being born Filipino when she was in fact a native Chinese citizen, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said, as the Senate will seek the help of the Chinese embassy to determine the mayor’s true identity.

In an interview over ANC yesterday, Gatchalian said Guo lied about being pure Filipino because a Chinese passport under her supposed name Guo Hua Ping stated that she is a Fujian-born Chinese citizen.

“Yes (she should be deported). She’s not Filipino. If you’re not Filipino, you need a Philippine visa to stay in our country. But since her SIRV was cancelled in 2011, she no longer holds any visa to stay in the country,” Gatchalian said, referring to the Special Investor’s Resident Visa (SIRV).

“Her passport should be revoked as well because her birth certificate is fake. Her father supplied fake information; therefore, the basis to issue the passport has disappeared,” he said.

Gatchalian flagged Guo for using two different passports – one Philippine and the other Chinese – between 2008 and 2011.

“She was flying in and out of the Philippines using two passports,” the senator said.

The Senate committee investigating Guo’s links to illegal offshore gaming activity will coordinate with the Chinese embassy in Manila – through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) – to determine Guo’s mysterious identity, the senator said.

“I understand there are protocols we have to go through with the DFA. We cannot go straight to the Chinese embassy because of these protocols,” Gatchalian said.