MANILA, Philippines — The mayor of Parañaque City on Saturday ordered an investigation against the owner of Mayuga compound where law enforcers arrested 44 Chinese and nine Filipinos for their illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) activity despite the imposed Luzon-wide lockdown.
Police apprehended all 53 suspects, including a number of armed Chinese men, at a building in Mayuga Compound, Barangay Tambo, on Friday night, after acting on a report of a concerned citizen.
“Sinira nila ang imahe ng lungsod at binalewala nitong mga Chinese national ang mga city ordinances and batas ngayong panahon ng crisis dahil sa COVID-19 pandemic. Kaya dapat silang hindi na makabalik at ma-ban dito sa Parañaque simula ngayon,” Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez said in a statement.
(They destroyed the image of the city and the Chinese nationals defied the city ordinances and laws during this time of crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So they should not return and must be banned in Parañaque from now on.)
Olivarez also directed the city building officials and the business permit and licensing office to file appropriate charges against the building owner if proven that a POGO was allowed to operate in its premises during the ongoing enhanced community quarantine.
Olivarez further ordered the Mayor’s Action Team and Parañaque City Police to also determine if some barangay officials are involved in the mess.
The Bureau of Immigration should also immediately deport the Chinese nationals operating Pogo hubs in the country while the ECQ continues to take effect, Olivarez said.
The city mayor then urged the Bureau of Immigration to deport “as soon as possible the Chinese who were using Filipino dummies to operate the illegal POGO when the government imposed enhanced community quarantine due to COVID-19 threat.”
To recall, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. ordered the temporary suspension of POGO operations and their service providers in Luzon because of the strict quarantine.