244 FOREIGN NATIONALS, HULI SA ‘LARGEST POGO BUST FOR 2026’ NG BI

Umabot sa 244 foreign nationals—karamihan ay Chinese—ang dinakip sa simultaneous operations laban sa POGO-related activities sa dalawang municipalities sa Zamboanga Sibugay nitong October 2, 2026.

Ang operations ay pinangunahan ng Bureau of Immigration (BI) Intelligence Division na pinamumunuan ni Jun Manahan, at sa pakikipag-ugnayan sa National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) at Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at isinagawa saBarangay Kimos, Siay at Barangay Tandiong Muslim, Alicia, batay sa magkakahiwalay na mission orders ng BI.

Ayon kay BI spokesperson Atty Anisja Hadji Hassan, ang operations ay bahagi ng “BI’s continuing enforcement of Executive Order No. 74, series of 2024, which ordered the immediate ban on POGO operations in the Philippines, and Republic Act No. 12312 or the Anti-POGO Act of 2025, which prohibits offshore gaming operations and the establishment or operation of POGO sites in the country.”

Batay umano sa ulat ni Manahan, nakahuli ang BI teams sa Siay operation ng 113 foreign nationals, na binubuo ng 110 Chinese nationals, dalawang Cambodians at isang Hong Kong national.

Sa Alicia operation, iniulat ni Manahan na 131 foreign nationals naman ang nadakip na karamihan din ay Chinese, kasama na ang mga taga-Malaysia, Indonesia at Myanmar.

“The identities and nationalities of those apprehended remain subject to verification by the BI Alien Registration Division. They are being investigated for alleged immigration violations, including working without the proper work visa in violation of the terms and conditions of their admission under Section 37(a)(7) of Commonwealth Act No. 613, as amended; for undesirability due to their alleged involvement in illegal POGO-related online activities; being undocumented; and, in some cases, illegal entry,” ani Hassan.

“BI operatives and their law enforcement counterparts recovered large quantities of computer equipment, including 78 computer monitors, roughly 3,000 mobile phones, laptops, and cellular SIM cards from the Casa de Coco Pension House compound. Raiding agencies also seized a significant number of technical devices believed to have been utilized for online scams, revealing an organized illegal online operation at the site,” dagdag pa ni Hassan.

Aniya, ang BI ay nakikipag-ugnayan sa ibang law enforcement agencies ukol sa posibleng human trafficking-related violations bunsod ng operations.

Ayon kay Hassan, ang mga dinakip na dayuhan ay sasailalim sa deportation proceedings dahil sa paglabag sa Philippine immigration laws at kapag naisyuhan na ng deportation order, sila ay isasama sa BI blacklist, upang di na makabalik pa sa bansa. (JERRY S. TAN)