According to Garcia: No assurance that Cebu City has zero POGO operations

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia says that while he cannot provide full assurance that there are no Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) or POGO-like activities in the city, recent inspections of registered establishments have confirmed that no such operations are currently present.

Based on information from Garcia and data provided by the Cebu City Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO), which has the registration of at least 40,000 establishments in Cebu City, there are currently no active or legal POGO operators within the city.

In an interview yesterday, September 2, 2024, Garcia announced that after recent inspections, he can reaffirm that none of the registered establishments were performing like POGO. He said that most were functioning as registered electronic games and were permitted to do so.

The data provided by BPLO is in line with the order of Garcia last July 29 for the Cebu City government to double check all BPLO-registered establishments and to crackdown POGO operations in the city.

This after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order to immediately stop all POGO operations in the country during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 22, 2024.

The recent inspection of the registered establishments was done by the members of the local police and the BPLO, following as well Garcia’s earlier marching order to then new city director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Police Colonel Antonietto Cañete, to form a task force that should be composed of the members of the CCPO and the BPLO.

Despite finding no linkage on POGO, Garcia said that he cannot firmly rule out the absence of POGO in the city.

“Everything man is in order, but di gyud sad ko moingon nga wala. But basi sa among nakita, wala,” he said.

“There is no assurance that there is no POGO, or POGO-like operations here in Cebu City,” Garcia added.

Last Saturday, at least 162 foreigners were rescued from an alleged illegal POGO hub inside a resort hotel in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu during a raid by authorities.

The foreigners – 83 Chinese, 70 Indonesians, six Myanmar nationals, a Malaysian and two Taiwanese – who reportedly engaged in scamming activities, as well as five Filipino administrators or managers, were found at the POGO inside the Tourist Garden Hotel located in the city’s Barangay Agus.

For Garcia, he said he cannot be certain yet that resorts or hotels in Cebu City are cleared for such operations as these were not seen in the city's records. — (FREEMAN)