Remulla padlocks Pogo hub in Cavite’s Island Cove

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission Director Gilbert Cruz, Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil, and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Chairman Alejandro Tengco plaster a closed sign on one of the Philippine offshore gaming operator’s buildings at the Island Cove compound in Kawit town, Cavite province on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (Photo by Jason Sigales / INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla formally closed down the Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hub in Island Cove, a property in Kawit, Cavite that his family once owned.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) head certified the shutdown of the facility during a visit on Tuesday, Dec. 17, with personnel of the Philippine National Police, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (Paocc), and other government agencies.

The local government assessed the Pogo hub after it ceased operations last Nov. 30, Remulla told reporters before the inspection, adding that the visit was to ensure compliance.

“As promised, we said that in December, we will come here to see to it that everything is closed, that the orders of the President to close all Pogos are followed,” he said.

“As per the local government unit administrator, during the last week of November, they inspected here and there are no operations here anymore,” he added.

When he took office as DILG Secretary last October, Remulla vowed to “personally padlock the premises and make sure they are closed.”

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla leads the inspection of the Philippine offshore gaming operator housed in the Island Cove facility in Kawit town, Cavite province on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (Photo by Jason Sigales / INQUIRER.net)

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The inspection came two weeks before the Dec. 31 deadline set by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to shut down all Pogos in the country.

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Paocc identified the Pogo hub in Island Cove as the largest in the country. According to the compound’s outgoing general manager, Ron Lim, the 36-hectare lot had 57 buildings and 15,000 workers.

Remulla denies family involvement anew

The Remulla family previously owned the property as a resort, operating from 1976 to 1985 then from 1998 to 2018, according to the DILG chief.

Remulla also said they sold the compound and transferred ownership of the company shares.

Lim told the media on Tuesday that the complex was repurposed into a residential and office mixed-use property, and applied for building permits with the local government.

“Just to make it clear, the local government? Municipal government,” Remulla clarified.

Lim added that the Pogo hub was granted its license in January 2019.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla and Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil padlock one of the Philippine offshore gaming operator’s buildings in Island Cove in Kawit town, Cavite province on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (Photo by Jason Sigales / INQUIRER.net)

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The DILG chief again denied any involvement of his family in the Pogo hub, saying that neither of his brothers, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) Director Gilbert Remulla, approved the operation of the Pogo hub.

“Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla never signed off for it to operate. My brother who is a Pagcor director (Gilbert Remulla), when he was appointed, these were already existing and he didn’t sign off in whatever way or form to endorse the operation,” the Interior Secretary said.

When asked if he inspected the site during his tenure as Cavite governor, the DILG chief said the facility was still being constructed when he took office in 2019.

“Then in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic happened, so we didn’t inspect,” he added.

Remulla was Cavite governor from 2010 to 2016 then again from 2019 until his appointment to the DILG post in October 2024.

READ: Jonvic is new DILG chief, says brother Remulla

When asked about what will become of the property, Lim said, “For now, the management has no plans yet, but we’re open to suggestions, maybe from the government.”

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Paocc said it planned to convert Pogo hubs into schools and government buildings once turned over to authorities.