CEBU POGO. Authorities rescue 162 foreign nationals during a raid in an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu on Aug. 31, 2024. Another POGO hub was raided in the diving capital of Moalboal on Wednesday (Oct. 9). (Photo from PAOCC)
CEBU CITY – Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia on Friday issued a warning to foreigners who may be secretly involved in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) here to leave the city.
“If there are illegal activities, like POGOs, I will not discount the possibility of their presence in Cebu City. But one thing that I can say is that we are monitoring, we are inching closer to them,” Garcia told the Philippine News Agency.
Garcia’s comment came after the discovery of a POGO activity in a resort in the diving capital of Moalboal on Wednesday, leading to the arrest of 38 Chinese nationals.
Call centers and other POGO-like establishments are being inspected while the Business Permit and Licensing Office are reviewing permits issued to businesses operating in economic and information technology zones.
The local government is relying on the intelligence arm of the Cebu City Police Office to find possible illegal online gaming hubs victimizing hapless citizens through scams, Garcia said.
He reiterated the city government’s resolve to put out all POGO hubs as ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his third State of the Nation Address in July.
“Our position is clear. We don’t want POGO in Cebu City. That’s it. If they are here now operating clandestinely, then they must stop and leave Cebu City at once,” Garcia said.
Before the discovery of the POGO activity in Moalboal, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the National Bureau of Investigation raided a POGO hub in a resort in Lapu-Lapu City on Aug. 31. (PNA)
