Manhunt on for 11,254 foreign POGO workers

MANILA, Philippines — More than 11,000 foreign workers of shuttered Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hubs are now considered illegal aliens and are being hunted for deportation by immigration authorities.

In a statement, Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said he had ordered a manhunt for the 11,254 foreign POGO workers still in the country – based on records – after they failed to meet the Dec. 31, 2024 deadline for the downgrading of their visas.

He said the manhunt and deportation proceedings would cover even those found to have downgraded their visas but had not left the country.

The unaccounted for foreign workers were part of the 33,863 POGO employees registered with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

A total of 22,609 POGO workers were able to meet the deadline and left the country, according to the BI.

“I have ordered our intelligence division to initiate the search for those at large,” Viado said.

“They are considered illegal aliens now.  Expect an intensified manhunt against these illegal aliens. The order of the President is clear. No more POGO in the Philippines. Foreign nationals who continue to disobey this will be arrested, deported and blacklisted. No exceptions,” he added.

The BI chief also stressed that POGOs are obliged to surrender their foreign workers who remain in the country or face charges for harboring illegal aliens.

“As of now, these people are not yet in the custody of the Bureau of Immigration, but their information is with their companies,” BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said.

“So the first step that we will be doing is compelling and telling the companies to surrender these people to the bureau so that we can already deport them,” she added.

PAOCC estimate

In an interview with “Storycon” on One News, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) chief Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said there may be as many as 20,000 foreign POGO workers still in the country.

He said the 11,000 foreign workers in the BI list only covered those included in its database when POGOs where rebranded as Internet Gaming Licensees (ISLs). The government only used the term IGLs to refer to POGOs in 2023.

Cruz said they have also received reports that small-scale POGO hubs are operating in different parts of the country. Pressed for details, Cruz said: “Marami rami na rin (There are many).”

Interior and Local Government Secretary Juan Victor Remulla, for his part, confirmed the closure of the 47 remaining POGO establishments in the country, as ordered by President Marcos.

These establishments – part of the original 148 licensed operators as of 2022 – were found to be non-compliant with the government’s crackdown on POGO activities.

Remulla revealed that all working visas issued from 2016 to 2022 had been canceled and downgraded to tourist visas.

“Ninety percent of those with working visas have already left the country, likely moving to new POGO hubs in Laos or Cambodia,” Remulla said.

He added that the remaining foreign workers in the country are under surveillance and restricted to tourist visa status.

Local government units (LGUs) are under instructions to inspect all buildings within their jurisdiction and to identify and shut down any suspected POGO operations.

“POGOs typically operate with large groups of 50 to 200 people, creating noticeable traffic and activity. We have directed LGUs and local chief executives to ensure strict monitoring and inspections of structures in their areas,” Remulla said.

Local chief executives should submit certifications by the end of January confirming the absence of POGO operations in their respective areas, he added.

“We have issued an Executive Order requiring these certifications. If any illegal operations are found, it’s hard to believe a mayor wouldn’t know. If they claim ignorance, it reflects poorly on their leadership,” Remulla said.

“At the end of the month, we required them to submit certificates of ‘No POGOs’ in their localities,” he added. “Mayors who neglect their duties could face charges. It is part of their responsibility to monitor these activities.”

LGUs are “responsible for checking all the buildings, the occupancy permits, the electric permits, the fire safety permits so they would have full capacity to enter all the buildings,” Remulla said.

He added that LGUs can conduct building inspections as well as check if the owners are paying correct real property taxes.

The anti-POGO campaign is “an ongoing thing, forever,” he stressed. “We will continue to be vigilant about it.”

Zero tolerance

Remulla also vowed zero tolerance against erring officials. “If you commit a mistake, pasensyahan tayo (no hard feelings),” he  added.

The DILG acknowledged the challenges facing displaced POGO workers accustomed to high salaries. “Some may resort to daily operations to earn a living. The Philippine National Police (PNP) is on alert to monitor their activities,” he stressed.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) earlier said it is addressing post-POGO concerns, including canceling fraudulent birth certificates and seizing illegally acquired properties of foreign nationals.

On pronouncements by the PAOCC to target “small-scale” POGO operations, Remulla said “it is all about the bandwidth. Where there is available bandwidth, that is where they will operate.”

“They cannot operate in remote areas because there would be no internet there. They have a high bandwidth requirement to be able to operate,” the DILG chief said, adding that even special economic zones are not exempted from Executive Order 74 banning POGO operations.

He was reacting to reports that the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) wanted to be exempted from EO 74 or the ban on POGOs.

CEZA’s iGaming licensees, reportedly foreign companies operating outside the Philippines, are prohibited from soliciting or accepting bets within the country.

But the DILG chief said it is “very clear that with EO 74, CEZA, PEZA zones are not exempted.”

A POGO hub operating inside the freeport zone in Bagac, Bataan was raided last October, he said.

“We have no boundaries. There are no walls too high for us to climb. All these areas we can inspect,” Remulla added.

Senators’ backing

Meanwhile, Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Risa Hontiveros have expressed support for efforts of the OSG to proactively revoke birth certificates fraudulently obtained by foreign nationals, especially those involved in POGOs.

“I agree that these fraudulent birth certificates should immediately be tracked down and canceled so that these criminals will no longer have a basis to stay in the country,” Gatchalian said. “This weakness enabled foreigners to become instant Filipinos without going through the naturalization process, which in turn enabled them to buy properties and even startup businesses.”