PAGCOR orders shutdown of raided POGO in Las Piñas City

In the latest turn of events related to the June 26 raid of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Las Piñas City, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) ordered the shutdown of the affected business joint, according to an Inquirer news report. This is the same POGO whose workers include a few foreign fugitives.

To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the Inquirer.net news report. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) has issued a cease and desist order against Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) service provider Xinchuang Network Technology Inc. (formerly known as Hong Tai), effectively shutting down its operations in Las Piñas City.

The Philippine National Police said it could now hasten the implementation of the warrants following Pagcor’s order to shut down Xinchuang, which police raided last week.

Police Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan, chief of the PNP public information office, considered the Pagcor intervention “a welcome development” as this would enable police units to implement the five warrants to search, seize and examine data and two search warrants issued by Las Piñas Regional Trial Court against Xinchuang Network, one of the 111 Pogo service providers accredited by Pagcor.

PNP units led by the National Capital Region Police Office and Anti-Cybercrime Group are on the 10th day of its raid, which started on June 27, at the Xinchuang’s self-contained hub along Alabang-Zapote Road in Barangay Almanza Uno.

“When we implement search warrants, it is imperative that no other activities are being conducted in the area, because we want the operating elements to have complete control of the situation,” Maranan told reporters in Camp Crame on Friday, saying this would prevent tampering of evidence and escape of suspects.

“It is the obligation and responsibility, not only of the PNP, but of all government agencies that are involved, so that we can ensure that our Pogo industry is clean from committing illegal activities,” he added.

According to Maranan, 71 out of 138 seized safety deposit boxes have been opened as of Thursday, as part of the inventory managed by the Anti-Cybercrime Group and witnessed by representatives from the Anti-Money Laundering Council and barangay officials.

A total of 781 have been processed out of the 1,239 foreign workers rescued at the compound during the raid on June 27. All 1,534 Filipino workers have already been cleared and allowed to leave the premises.

7 fugitives caught – Seven fugitives—four Chinese and three Taiwanese nationals—were found to be working for Xinchuang, and turned over to the Bureau of Immigration for deportation.

“Hopefully we can complete the profiling of the foreign nationals and the implementation of the search warrants in the coming days,” Maranan said.

In a statement on Monday, Pagcor said it has already issued a show cause order to Xinchuang “to explain in detail its defenses against the allegations being faced by the company and why the state-run gaming regulatory firm should not cancel its certificate of accreditation and authority to operate.”

Pagcor also ordered Xinchuang to stop all its offshore gaming activities pending the completion of the investigation being conducted by the PNP.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: If you are a resident of Las Piñas City, what is your reaction to this development? Are you satisfied with the PAGCOR’s cease-and-desist order (CDO) on Xinchuang?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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