Pinoy spouses, children say goodbye to deported Chinese POGO workers
Filipino spouses and children bid farewell to Chinese loved ones who are Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) workers being deported back to China.
In Saleema Refran's Tuesday report on '24 Oras,' alias 'Jacque' expressed worry for the Chinese father of her six-month-old baby.
She said she plans to follow her partner to China. But for other Filipinos, it may be the last time they will see their Chinese loved ones.
'Bigyan po sila ng chance kung wala naman pong case na kasangkot ng mga iligal ganun. Pagbigyan po na mapalaya po,' alias 'Marie' said.
(Give them a chance if they are not involved in illegal activities. I hope they will be freed.)
At least 100 Chinese citizens are being deported to Shanghai, China. They were nabbed during the anti-POGO operation in scam hubs in Cebu, Cavite, Parañaque, and Pasay.
The Chinese government paid for their fare to China without any layovers.
'Importante ito sa kanila dahil marami silang nakukuhang impormasyon dito sa bosses especially kung paano sila nag ooperate, saan sila nag ooperate at anu-anong mga sistema sa money laundering,' Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) executive director Gilbert Cruz.
(This is important to them since they get information about the bosses, especially on how and where they operate, and their system in money laundering.)
Once the deported POGO workers return to China, they will undergo a thorough investigation since some were allegedly involved in large-scale crimes, where many fell victim to different scam hubs allegedly from the Philippines.
These cases involved cybercrime, scamming, fraud, and money laundering.
'Ang pinag-uusapan natin dito, billions of dollars. Yung isang na-turn over natin na wanted person sa kanila, umaabot sa P900 billion ang kanyang nakulimbat o na money launder doon sa kanilang bansa,' Cruz said.
(We're talking about billions of dollars. One person we turned over is a wanted person for a money laundering case in their country, which amounted to P900 billion.)
The PAOCC said since the crackdown on POGO hubs was launched in 2023, about 4,000 people were arrested of whom 2,500 are foreigners deported to their respective countries.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration said it has fixed the delay in the other arrested POGO workers' deportation process.
'Ang main difficulty na lang natin ngayon hindi na yung NBI clearance. Dati kasi medjo ilang buwan pa yung binibilang, ngayon isang araw na lang. Ang magiging challenge ngayon, yung kanilang pasaporte,' BI spokersperson Dana Sandoval said.
(The main difficulty we're facing right now is not the NBI clearance. Before, it was being processed for months, but now, it can be processed in one day. Our current challenge is their passports.) — Mariel Celine Serquiña/BAP, GMA Integrated News
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