The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) is calling on the public to report any suspicious activities linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) as authorities intensify their crackdown on criminal syndicates operating under the guise of online gaming.
In a news forum in Quezon City, PAOCC Executive Director Gilbert Cruz revealed that POGOs continue to have a deep involvement in organized crime, including human trafficking, cyber fraud, and violent attacks following a recent raid in Metro Manila.
“Last year alone, 66 murders were recorded in Region III related to POGO activities,” Cruz said. “Many of these cases remain unsolved, often involving foreign nationals.”
Authorities have also uncovered evidence of extreme violence within these syndicates.
During a raid in Pasay City, operatives rescued 34 Indonesian nationals allegedly held captive by a Chinese-led criminal group. A separate operation revealed torture videos on a suspect’s phone, showing victims being subjected to electric shocks and other brutal treatment.
The rescued Indonesians were reportedly set to be trafficked to Cambodia, where syndicates see law enforcement as more lenient.
The crackdown has also exposed POGO-linked financial influence, with authorities seizing luxury vehicles, high-end condominiums, and illegal firearms.
Authorities also seized 12 torture videos from arrested Chinese nationals, showing brutal treatment of victims, including one man bound and threatened with a gun.
Cruz said these groups use their vast wealth to manipulate legal loopholes and resist prosecution. “They have the best weapons, the best cars, and they buy entire buildings just to continue their operations,” Cruz said.
During the same operation, authorities also recovered a uniform of China’s People’s Liberation Army.
The PAOCC is tracking over 100 illegal POGO operations that defy the government ban.
Following Executive Order No. 74, all POGO operations—whether previously licensed or rebranded under new names—are now illegal. Cruz confirmed that law enforcement agencies have begun dismantling these operations and arresting those responsible.
The PAOCC also said it is hoping to weed out all illegal POGOs by the end of the year.
Cruz said only more than a hundred POGOs are operating in the country after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s total ban on POGOs, which took effect in January. From big POGO hubs, Cruz said, most of these operators are now doing business from apartments, condominiums, including from their rooms in hotels or resorts.
Cruz said they have yet to identify all the victims in the video and urged families who have missing kin and suspect that they are working for an illegal POGO to contact the PAOCC to see if one of them is among those being tortured in the videos.
