MANILA, Philippines — Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) need to wind down starting Dec. 15 and be closed by Dec. 31allin66, in accordance with the yearend deadline set by President Marcos, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said yesterday.

In a television interview, Remulla said that the Department of the Interior and Local Government and Philippine National Police (PNP) are concentrating on the 47 remaining active licenses.

“(By) Dec. 15, we will start the visitation of all their sites. They should show that they are already winding down and we are accounting all their visas, mostly Chinese nationals who went here using a working visa for POGO. So, there is an interconnection of the two. If there is no POGO, they need to leave the country as they have no working visa here. (Their) visa is no longer valid,” Remulla said.

The DILG chief said all POGOs should be closed starting Dec. 31, regardless of nationality.

“Even if you are licensed, Filipinos, Chinese, or Americans, by Dec. 15 you should be winding down and by Dec. 31, you should be closed already,” Remulla said.

President Marcos issued Executive Order No. 74 imposing an immediate ban on offshore and internet gaming in the country.

In issuing EO 74, President Marcos said “the State has the paramount duty to safeguard national security, maintain public order, uphold the rule of law, protect the safety of its citizens, and ensure the integrity of the social fabric of the nation.”

Remulla added that POGOs are conducting guerrilla operations in Visayas and Mindanao, but “these are just small.”

187 Chinese POGO workers deported

The government deported to their country yesterday 187 Chinese nationals who were rounded up during raids on POGO hubs.

From a detention facility in Pasay City managed by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), the foreigners were brought to the Ninoy Aquino International Terminal 1 where they boarded a flight back to China.

PAOCC executive director Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said 190 Chinese citizens were scheduled for deportation but three were deferred due to pending documentary requirements. The Chinese POGO workers were apprehended during raids by law enforcement authorities.

Of the deportees, 122 are from 3D Analyzer in Pasay City while 57 are from the Tourist Garden Hotel in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu. The remaining 11 are from Zun Yuan Technology Inc. in Bamban, Tarlac, Smartweb Technology in Pasay and Fontana in Clark, Pampanga.

The official said 12 Indonesians will be deported today while 43 other Chinese nationals are up for deportation next week.

Over 2,000 Chinese citizens and other foreigners connected with POGO hubs have been deported under the Marcos administration.

Less than a month before President Marcos’ ban on POGO takes effect, the PAOCC has started mapping out strategies to eradicate online gambling firms in the country.

Cruz said they have been meeting with officials of the PNP, National Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Immigration for coordinated operations against POGOs which continue to defy the order for them to stop operations by Dec. 31.

Citing their records, Cruz said there are 100 POGOs which previously have licenses from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

They are also keeping tabs on guerrilla-type POGOs or those which are operating in subdivisions and condominium buildings. Some of them went to the provinces, renting resorts for their small-scale operations.

Job fair today

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is set to hold today a special job fair with over 4,000 vacancies for displaced POGO workers.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said there will be more than 4,000 employment opportunities in the event set to be held at the Activity Center of the Ayala Pavilion Mall in Biñan, Laguna.

“For the job fair, there will be 60 local employers with some 4,383 job vacancies,” Laguesma said.

The DOLE said top job vacancies to be offered are production operators, cashier, sales clerk, warehouse crew and transporters.

The agency is inviting displaced/would be displaced POGO workers to participate in the one-day job fair. - Emmanuel Tupasallin66

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