Police raid POGO in Pasay allegedly involved in scams

AUTHORITIES on Tuesday raided the office of a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) service provider near the capital that was allegedly involved in scams, according to the Department of Justice (DoJ).

Most of the 650 workers found in the office were Filipino, Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Ty, who leads the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, told a Senate hearing on Wednesday.

The company, SA Rivendell Global Support, is located at Zamora corner Gaitos Street in Pasay City and was said to be conducting scam activities. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) recognizes SA Rivendell as a POGO customer relations service provider.

Mr. Ty said about 180 workers were foreigners, mostly Chinese.

Senator Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros-Baraquel told the hearing the POGO facility in Pasay had a layout similar to the POGO in Las Piñas City that police raided on June 27.

Police rescued more than 2,000 Filipino and foreign workers from the POGO facility than ran an online casino. Ms. Hontiveros-Baraquel said the Pasay hub focused on scams instead of gambling.

Workers at the Pasay hub were caught engaging in illegal online activities such as love scams, online game manipulations and other forms of investment fraud, the lawmaker said, citing the inter-agency task force.

The task force in a separate statement said the only difference between the Pasay and Las Piñas hubs was the absence of a detention and punishment facility since the scammers were allowed to go home.

Investigators also discovered a corporate setup at the Pasay hub, it added.

Pagcor Assistant Vice President Jessa Fernandez told senators they inspect POGO companies twice a week. They last inspected SA Rivendell, which was registered as a customer relations service provider, on July 26.

She cited paraphernalia that indicated signs of illegal activities.

Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian in March urged local governments to ban Philippine offshore gaming operators to protect them from crimes.

“Once crime happens in your jurisdiction, it’s the mayor’s responsibility and the local chief of police’s responsibility,” he said in a statement. “So, it becomes a local issue, and it becomes the problem of the community.”

He said some local governments that are POGO hubs have begun to doubt the benefits of these mostly Chinese online gambling operators on their economy. These include the cities of Manila, Pasay and Parañaque, he added.

Mr. Gatchalian said Pasig City was the first to approve an ordinance banning POGOs after seeing that the social costs outweigh the benefits.

The senator, whose ways and means committee probed POGO operations in the country, said he would urge the Executive department to ban them.

Lawmakers have sought to ban mostly Chinese gaming companies that operate online casinos, which proliferated during the term of ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte, saying these have become breeding grounds for illegal activities including kidnapping and money laundering. — Norman P. Aquino and Jan Jiminel Cacdac