By Wilnard Bacelonia | Philippine News Agency
Some Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) are now pretending to be business process outsourcing (BPO) firms to continue their operations amid the declaration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. totally banning POGOs in the country.
This was confirmed on Tuesday by Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Director Winnie Quidato to the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality during its last public hearing on illegal activities linked to POGOs.
“’Yong malalaki po na mga POGO companies that we have raided before or that were existing before, ang nakikita po namin sa kanila ngayon is nagbe-breakdown sila into smaller groups. Some are even branding themselves now as BPOs,” Quidato told the panel.
He expressed hope that these “guerrilla POGOs” and their illegal activities would not affect the good image that BPOs have established in the country.
“Naging masama na po ’yong pangalan ng POGO. Hopefully, huwag po ito mangyari sa mga BPOs,” Quidato said.
Senator Risa Hontiveros agreed with the PAOCC official, saying that protecting the good image of BPOs is very important.
“Importante po ’yon kasi yung BPOs, tulad ng remittances ng ating mga OFWs, ’yong BPOs ang isa sa top revenue generators talaga para sa gobyerno at para sa ekonomiya,” she said.
Quidato further reported that from thousands of individuals employed in a single POGO before, “guerrilla POGOs” have now broken into smaller groups of 10 to 20 individuals per operation.
“Just like what we found in Parañaque when we raided the Parañaque group, nakita po namin sa isang subdivision na mayroon silang inokupa na 45 houses within the subdivision. Gano’n po ang nangyayari po ngayon. They are breaking down [in]to smaller groups,” he said.
Quidato noted that because of the active campaign of the PAOCC in Luzon, most of the “guerrilla POGOs” have begun operating in the Visayas and Mindanao.
He said the PAOCC is set to meet again with concerned government agencies to discuss a tighter implementation of Executive Order 74 and how to go after “guerilla POGOs.”
Marcos signed EO 74 on Nov. 4, imposing an immediate ban on offshore and Internet gaming operations in the country.