Government to seize POGO assets

MANILA, Philippines —  The government will apply forfeiture laws in seizing assets of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO), as authorities rush to shut down the illegal entities before the end of the year, according to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.?

He gave assurance that while the government is determined to shut down all POGOs by yearend, due process will be followed.?

“I read in the newspapers that it is the Senate that will look into it. But we are already doing everything to hasten the process. Except that we have to give due process to whoever claims to be the owner of these assets. Hindi naman pwede i-grab basta (we cannot just grab them),” he told reporters at Malacañang on Tuesday.?

Bersamin was referring to a bill filed in the Senate that seeks to outlaw POGOs.?A section of the proposed Anti-POGO Act filed in Congress states that “all assets” used by POGOs would be “forfeited in favor of the government.”?Bersamin noted that the country has existing rules and regulations about forfeiture.?He also said there is no need for President Marcos to issue a directive to acquire POGO properties.?“He does not need to issue a directive. It’s already a given that they will be forfeited if they were involved in a crime,” Bersamin said.?The Revised Penal Code allows the “confiscation and forfeiture of the proceeds or instruments of the crime” by the government.?Asked whether the government would recommend the use of the forfeited assets for other purposes, Bersamin replied, “Any kind of purpose that is (legitimate) to the government and to the use of the property.”?The Department of Social Welfare and Development recently repurposed a former POGO hub in Pasay City for its Walang Gutom Kitchen.?In November, Marcos signed Executive Order 74, mandating that the ban on POGOs and internet gaming licensees covers illegal offshore gaming activities, new license applications, renewals and the discontinuation of operations.?Marcos had said all offshore gaming operations are banned in the country and there is no way they can operate under any similar license.?He first announced the ban on POGOs during his third State of the Nation address in July.

Deported

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said 34 Chinese nationals believed to be involved in illegal POGO operations were recently sent back to their country.

In a statement, the BI said the 34 Chinese nationals were deported last Dec. 12.

The persons were reportedly apprehended in operations conducted by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission at Royal Corp. Xisheng IT, Lucky South 99 Outsourcing and Royal Park, and faced multiple charges including being undocumented, overstaying, working without proper visas or permits and working for companies other than their petitioners.

At a press conference, BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado gave an update on their anti-POGO operations and said that only “less than a thousand are unaccounted for.”

Viado said that out of the 33,000-plus POGO employees registered with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., around 23,000 to 24,000 voluntarily left the country.

However, there are still 8,000 out of the 33,000 who applied for a downgrading of their visas.

“So, there are only a few left who are unaccounted… Less than a thousand are unaccounted. We will continue to seek them out,” Viado said.

He told POGO workers still in the country that they have until Dec. 31 to leave or have their visas downgraded. “After Dec. 31, the bureau would start blacklisting them,” he said. –  Evelyn Macairan, Christine Boton