POGOs front for crypto scam hubs – senator

SEN. Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros claimed that the Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) were being used as “legal cover” for the operation of cryptocurrency scam hubs in the country.

The senator, at the resumption of the hearing on the illegal activities involving foreigners, presented videos and reports of recent raids made by law enforcement agencies on several commercial and residential properties in Clark, Pampanga, resulting in the rescue of 1,300 victims and the confiscation of over P180 million in cash.

The raid last May 4 resulted in the arrest of at least 12 individuals who were allegedly supervising the operations.

Over 1,000 human trafficking victim-survivors from Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Myanmar, Thailand and Bhutan, among others, are undergoing repatriation proceedings.

“The hearing today finally, definitively confirmed one thing: POGOs are used as a legal cover for scam hubs,” Hontiveros said.

“This was confirmed by Iacat (Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking) earlier and as shown in the documents of sublessees raided at Sun Valley compound in Clark,” she said in Filipino.

The Sun Valley Clark Hub Cor. (SVCHC) and CGC Technologies Inc., based in the Clark Special Economic Zone, denied involvement in the so-called love scam and alleged trafficking of foreigners.

In a statement, SVCHC said it is a licensed locator in the business of leasing of office spaces and dormitories.

“SVCHC, as a real estate company, is not in any way connected or involved in operating online gaming or call center services,” it said.

Hontiveros said POGOs should be kicked out of the country.

“The first concrete step we need to take is to ban POGOs in the country. Kick POGOs out of the country now,” the chairman of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality said.

She warned that if POGOs are allowed to continue, the crypto scam and human trafficking operations will also “grow at a frightening rate our government will never be able to handle.”

Sen. Francis Tolentino asked Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty if the Iacat has any data on reports that victims of human trafficking and racketeering had turned into illegal recruiters and human traffickers themselves once they were repatriated back to their country of origin.

“I was in the golden triangle last month and one of the diplomats there mentioned that some of those who were rescued eventually returned and transformed themselves as the recruiter and willingly allowed themselves to be part of this elaborate scheme,” Tolentino said.

Ty informed Tolentino that they had “no collated data on those instances.”