Philippine DOJ warns illegal POGOs remain active
The Philippine Department of Justice has warned that illegal offshore gaming and related scam operations remain active despite the nationwide POGO ban. Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said recent raids have uncovered smaller premises, including operations confined to individual rooms.
Speaking at an October 22 briefing, Ty contrasted those discoveries with the large, multi-building compounds previously dismantled by authorities. He said the reduced size of the operations did not mean that associated human trafficking and online fraud had been eliminated.
Enforcement efforts are also examining the support arrangements behind clandestine sites. Industry reporting identifies investigations into dismissed police and military personnel allegedly providing security, alongside potential liability for property owners who knowingly lease premises to illegal operations.
Authorities are examining immigration records alongside the premises supporting illegal operations
The DOJ is reviewing how foreign nationals found in scam hubs entered and remained in the Philippines. Ty said officials were consolidating information on visa-free arrivals and overstaying, cautioning against attributing the presence of foreign nationals to a single immigration route before the data had been assessed.
The warning follows the adoption of implementing rules for Republic Act No. 12312, the Anti-POGO Act of 2025. The DOJ and Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission signed those rules August 12, establishing the operational framework for enforcing the prohibition and addressing associated organized crime.
Ty also stressed the need for cooperation with foreign governments and law enforcement agencies. The department cited the rescue of Filipinos from scam hubs in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia as examples of trafficking networks recruiting victims in one country and exploiting them in another.
