By Brian Jules Campued
A total of 165 Chinese nationals arrested during a raid of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Bamban, Tarlac in March were deported on Tuesday morning.
According to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), two of the Chinese workers were deferred departure after they were found to have pending cases in the Philippines.
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said the arrested individuals were engaged in offshore gambling and scamming activities.
“They were also found to have violated Philippine immigration laws by failing to present their travel documents, for overstaying, and for being undesirable aliens,” the BI said in a statement.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila said the deportation demonstrated the two countries’ “strong determination” to jointly combat fraud, kidnapping, and other crimes related to offshore gambling.
It emphasized that online gambling, cross-border gambling by Chinese nationals, and running casinos outside China to solicit Chinese nationals are illegal in China.
“The Chinese government has always taken tough measures to combat gambling,” the Embassy said in a statement.
“The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines will continue to strengthen practical law enforcement cooperation with the Philippine side, and support the latter in addressing the root cause of crimes related to offshore gambling,” it added.
According to the BI, the deported Chinese nationals are now included in its blacklist which prohibits them from re-entering the Philippines.
Meanwhile, PAOCC Spokesperson Dr. Winston John Casio said the latest batch of deportees is the third batch from Bamban.
Some 14 Malaysians and 52 Vietnamese nationals were earlier deported separately, Casio said in a Bagong Pilipinas interview on Wednesday.
“May mga natitira pa pong 56 foreign nationals na nandoon pa sa detention facility,” the PAOCC spokesperson said.
“Before the end of this month, lahat sila made-deport na po,” he added. – avds