Up to 10,000 foreign nationals linked to the controversial Philippine offshore gaming operations (Pogos) remain in the country despite a ban on the sector last year, with calls from lawmakers mounting to track down those at large and quickly deport them.
Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission (PAOCC) chief Gilbert Cruz revealed the numbers – mostly Chinese nationals – in the past week to a committee at the House of Representatives overseeing hearings on Pogos and alleged links to human rights violations, scams, and other crimes.
“[Enforcement actions against] more than 9,000 illegal foreign workers have been temporarily suspended. Many detainees cannot be deported due to missing passports,” Cruz said, referring to an estimated total that included those at large.
This has led to congestion in a detention facility in Pasay, a building converted into a PAOCC office, previously a Pogos hub raided and seized by the commission during last year’s crackdown.
There are 640 detainees in the facility awaiting deportation. Cruz said the commission was having difficulty funding their food and healthcare needs, with two in custody having died due to illness, while as many as 300 had fallen ill.
Without naming other Philippine agencies, Cruz added his side was having difficulty deporting the foreign workers as “coordination with foreign embassies for travel documents remains slow and inefficient”.
