CEBU, Philippines – Police in Central Visayas identified changes in the modus operandi of illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hubs, as more are discovered in Cebu.
On October 9, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) personnel discovered foreign nationals operating a suspected scamming hub inside the Happy Bear Villa Resort in Barangay Saavedra, Moalboal town, south of Cebu.
Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office Central Visayas, confirmed on Tuesday, October 15, that there were 38 undocumented Chinese nationals at the resort who were now under the custody of the Moalboal Police Station.
Pelare said that unlike the previous POGO found on August 31 at the Tourist Garden Hotel in Lapu-Lapu City, the suspected perpetrators of these scamming hubs were adopting new strategies — moving from highly-urbanized cities to far-flung rural areas.
“What we have discovered in Moalboal is that ilang gipili ang usa ka resort nga dili kaayo high-end (they have chosen a resort that is not very high-end). Then, it’s very secluded, it’s more or less 7 kilometers from the highway,” Pelare said.
Pelare added that there were also fewer workers involved inside the hub in comparison to the number of workers at the Tourist Garden Hotel POGO, which had at least 160 foreign nationals.
“But the same Chinese nationals or foreign nationals who are employed cannot exit the premises, they are enclosed in the area,” the spokesman said in a mix of English and Cebuano.
Indicator
According to police, one of the indicators of these POGO hubs is the presence of high-speed internet connection being serviced at an establishment.
Prior discovering the Happy Bear Villa POGO, a telecommunications company tipped off the local government of Moalboal of an “unusual request” for the installation of a high-speed internet connection at the resort.
Captain Brigido Paca, chief of the Moalboal Police Station, told Rappler on October 10, that the tip helped the local government and concerned agencies immediately begin their probe on suspicious activities in the area.
Eventually, police were able to arrest the suspects who had no travel documents and had more than 200 smartphones, 4 laptops, and 34 personal computers.
Pelare said on Tuesday that police have acquired a search warrant to seize the devices.
Not the last
“We are suspecting that they won’t be the last to be discovered…there will be a few more that are possibly still operating,” Pelare told reporters.
The challenge, she said, is that police cannot simply enter private establishments without a search warrant.
“Before you can be granted a search warrant, you need to prove to the court that you have evidence already and since they are adopting measures to hide their illegal activities, that is quite challenging for us,” Pelare added.
For now, Central Visayas police are monitoring more areas in the region in coordination with the local governments and other enforcement agencies to quell the spread of POGOs nationwide.
When asked if they would work with telecommunication agencies to identify suspicious establishments requesting high-speed internet connectivity, Pelare replied that they would consider it.
Pelare also confirmed that the arrested Chinese nationals would face cases for violating the Alien Registration Act of 1950.
As of this writing, police are still investigating the resort, the origins of the undocumented foreign nationals, and the illegal activities conducted there. – Rappler.com