NBI-7 to file charges vs POGO operators

CEBU, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-7 is preparing to file charges of qualified trafficking in persons against the individuals responsible for the alleged illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub, which was recently raided by authorities at a hotel in Barangay Agus, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

NBI-7 regional director Renan Augustus Oliva confirmed to The Freeman yesterday that they will be filing charges, while the Bureau of Immigration (BI) will likewise file a case of violation of immigration laws against the POGO operators.

However, Oliva said that as of 5 p.m. yesterday, those who will be facing charges have not yet undergone inquest proceedings as NBI, the Department of Justice Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and BI, are still collating all the pieces of evidence, testimonies of witnesses, and other documentary requirements needed in order to strengthen their cases once filed in court.

“Pwerte gyud daghana gipangkuhaan sa ilang mga affidavits. We want nga kumpleto ang tanan ebidensiya before ni namo i-file. We want nga mosaka gyud ang kaso, mao dili ni namo dali-dalion para lang gyud ma file,” Oliva said.

Last August 31, 2024, more than a hundred foreign nationals were rescued in a joint operation against an illegal online gaming hub inside the Tourist Garden Hotel in Lapu-Lapu City.

BI intelligence division chief Fortunato Manahan Jr., in a statement earlier, said that their operations stemmed from a mission order issued by BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco against 13 illegal aliens monitored to be overstaying and working without a permit in the said location.

The raid was conducted in coordination with the NBI, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC), and the IACAT.

Also on board the operations were personnel from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to assist possible trafficking victims.

Tansingco earlier said resort owners should also face charges for harboring illegal aliens in the area and for allowing their properties to be used by illegal aliens in their covert operations.

In a separate interview, Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of PRO-7 Regional Director Brigadier General Anthony Aberin, said that amidst the raid of the illegal POGO operation in Lapu-Lapu City, their intelligence monitoring in PRO-7 will continue.

“We have mentioned in the past that we are looking at some establishments in Central Visayas for possible POGO operations,” Pelare said, as he assured that they will continue with their efforts with the help of the community. — (FREEMAN)