Defense chief calls Pogos threat to PH security

Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. —Photo from the official Facebook page of the Philippine Department of National Defense

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese-operated Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) businesses in the country are threats to national security, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the commemoration in Manila of the country’s 126th Independence Day, Teodoro said that Pogos “weaken our political, economic, social, and peace and order fabric.”

According to him, “the most effective way to weaken your enemy is to cause trouble in his country.”

READ: NSC urged to tag Pogo as ‘national security threat’

“So we are carefully studying, and the government is working together to stop these activities. They do not have the right to do those activities here,” he added.

Teodoro’s statement came after authorities discovered supposed Chinese military uniforms during a raid on a Pogo complex in Porac town in Pampanga on June 4.

READ: AFP reviewing potential risks of Pogo sites near PH military bases

On Tuesday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said that the supposed uniforms were probably “used as props” in illicit online transactions.

During Sweden’s National Day celebration last week, Teodoro said that criminal syndicates posing as Pogos were national security concerns.

“The concern is that we should stop these syndicated criminal activities operating out of our base, which weaken our financial standing, our country ratings, [and] corrupt our society,” he told reporters. —Nestor Corrales