Poe: Gov’t failure to stop POGO-linked crimes will be a ‘mockery of our laws’

CRACKDOWN Some of the more than 800 Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) workers “rescued” from a complex run by a Chinese company in Bamban, Tarlac, await instructions from authorities on Wednesday. They include 497 foreigners, most of them Chinese. —PRESIDENTIAL ANTI-ORGANIZED CRIME COMMISSION photo

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Grace Poe lamented on Thursday the government’s seeming “inability” to eradicate crimes related to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo).

“Our inability to stop the POGO-related crimes will be a mockery of our laws and will perpetuate the cycle of exploitation and abuse, not only of Filipinos but of their foreigner victims,” Poe warned in a statement.

Her remarks came after a police raid in a Pogo hub in Bamban, Tarlac allegedly involved in human trafficking.

Authorities from various government agencies rescued 371 Filipinos and 497 foreigners during the operation.

For Poe, this recent raid in Tarlac bared how “illegal operations of offshore gaming” have proliferated in the country and victimized the public.

“The crimes associated with these pernicious Pogo activities have become more vicious, including human trafficking, prostitution, kidnapping for ransom, torture, online scam and fake IDs and passports,” Poe noted.

The senator urged law enforcers to strengthen their efforts to restrain fraudulent activities related to Pogo, especially since the country has yet to implement a “concrete policy” against the perpetrators.

‘A decisive stand’

 Several senators have been urging President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to completely ban Pogos in the Philippines, pointing out that these businesses only “made the country a fertile ground for various crimes.”

In a separate statement on Wednesday, Senator Win Gatchalian repeated his call for the administration to “take decisive action and immediately implement a ban on Pogo operations.”

“It is our duty to protect the well-being of our citizens and uphold the integrity of our nation,” said Gatchalian, head of the Senate panel on ways and means who investigated the alleged crimes linked to Pogos in the Philippines.